Posted on 11/21/2008 5:00:50 PM PST by skipper18
LOL Normally my cousin is very good about getting things right. And I knew some things were closing like the Pfaltzgraff and Farberware outlets soooooooo, I got dumb. lol
A $75 fill up is costing me $45.
My dollar is down in Canada, but Russia, Iran, and Venezuela are going bankrupt.
The US Military has found a way to grow new limbs and organs in people.
Smiling yet?
Yes I am, but just a little.
When I came home from work today I filled-up the old 99 Neon. It cost me 13 bucks at half tank. I’m used to twice that much and got gasoline all over me when I continued to ‘press’ my luck.
I didn’t realize that gas had gone down so much. That did make me happy though I knew it wouldn’t be wise to smoke after that. When I got home, I was excited to tell my wife of 26 years of the ‘great bargain’ I got at the pumps.
She was of course happy as well and then proceeded to tell me how the doctors (after an x-ray) think she might have lung cancer.
If that’s true, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to smile again.
If you’re a praying man, please do…
I’ve heard this all my life. What exactly is government cheese? I mean, I know its cheese but what kind of cheese? Is it Swiss, Cheddar, Velveeta? Does anybody know?
She was of course happy as well and then proceeded to tell me how the doctors (after an x-ray) think she might have lung cancer.
If that’s true, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to smile again.
If you’re a praying man, please do…
ArchAngel1983, nothing is determined yet. I'll pray.
Thanks, its not my style. The sky is falling on all of us, Chicken Littles or wiseasses, just the same. I've never seen the like.
Thank you!
High-fat American cheese.
Think Land-o-Lakes white, from the deli counter.
I never considered myself spoiled, but I can’t imagine something that disgusting and that’s coming from a guy who used to make ketchup soup from packets taken from fast food joints in the 80’s.
It’s good for cheeseburgers and toasted cheese samiches, and that’s about it.
What is interesting is that a lot of these stores needed to close before the recession/depression hit. I am a very typical American consumer and an astute shopper, and my tastes run parallel to those of most American women. So when lists like this one were disseminated via the net in recent weeks, there were no surprises at all.
Foot Locker? It was based on the 80’s and 90’s premise that America is devoted to running. As the boomers have aged, far, far fewer of us run than used to. It’s just not the thing anymore.
Circuit City? Dreadful selection and prices compared to its competitors, and infamous for bad customer service.
Talbot’s? Ten or twenty years ago they sold superb clothes made of good wool, linen, silk, or cotton. Styles were attractive classics, and a woman could keep those clothes for many years. But now they charge the same prices for Chinese clothes made of rayon and polyester. And they’re surprised that they’re going out of business.
Home Depot? Their internal customer surveys show that suburbanites prefer to shop at Lowe’s, which is cleaner, more attractive, less crowded. Short dark guys with a heavy Spanish accent prefer to hang out at Home Depot. Guess which group has more disposable income.
Zales and other low-end jewelry stores: there is a limit to the amount of money people can spend on tiny flecks of diamond, especially when all the jewelry looks identical.
Gap, like Foot Locker, is also synonymous with the 1990s. The new Gap is Old Navy. Old Navy is not empty. Old Navy is not going out of business, though its time will come too.
The Disney Stores were great when my children were little. They specialize in selling merchandise to seven-year-old girls, based on the characters of animated movies. Unfortunately Disney has not produced a movie that every little child wanted a piece of since The Lion King fourteen years ago.
CompUSA was a gloomy place staffed by teenage boys who had no work ethic.
Movie Gallery - the business plan didn’t take into account the fact that you can now download movies to your computer or get them from cable or satellite, and there’s no need to go to a store to buy them anymore.
Pacific Sunwear - Just like 9 kajillion identical teenagers’ stores full of t-shirts.
Sprint Nextel - The joke was that they call it NexTel because you have to stand Next to someone to Tell him anything. Poor coverage.
J. C. Penney - not a high-status place, and for years the middle class has desired Ralph Lauren type high-status clothing, not stuff that had the JC Penney logos on it.
Office Depot stores near me were always nearly empty long before the economic downturn.
Ethan Allen Interiors was based on a 40-year-old sales premise, that people would tolerate custom-ordering furniture and matching window treatments without a discount, then waiting four months for them to be made in North Carolina. Um, no. That doesn’t work for Americans anymore.
Sharper Image: again, there is a limit to the number of pointless toys people will buy.
Bombay Company: Bombay was cute 25 years ago, but again, there is a limit to the amount Americans are willing to spend on unassembled made-in-China furniture comprised of mystery-meat woods sprayed with a reddish-brown plastic coating. I could smell the failure long before the recession hit, simply because I couldn’t find anything I liked in their stores anymore.
KB Toys - small, crowded, limited selection. I lost interest in buying their crap.
I have no comment on why Macy’s might be closing stores.
The other stores mentioned—Pep Boys, Dillards, Wilson Leather, etc.—I know nothing about.
What effect will this have on our balance of trade with China?
LOL! That’s the funniest commentary on retail I’ve ever read!
Re: Macy’s - It overexpanded when it bought out and took over Jordan’s and Filene’s stores in the Northeast.
You thought that was funny? I didn’t write it funny. I’m just being a shopper. This is how I look at things.
Geez, sorry I responded...
They are in hiding with the clique that used to sneer “chicken little” at anyone who expressed the slightest misgiving as to the direction of the housing market.
Because, you know, a house in their neighborhood sold for “x” last week.
And she still doesn’t get it?
I’ll pray for you both. Hang in there.
A friend of mine just accepted a new job offer in a red state and I interviewed yesterday for a new job that I expect to get.
No, no, please don’t be annoyed. I was just surprised that anyone found it funny. I’m sitting here at the computer feeling bad and sad, and it interested me to think that my words didn’t convey that impression. I do a good bit of writing so it’s naturally of some interest to learn how people perceive my words. Apologies.
No apology needed! It was right on the mark.
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