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| I keep seeing this car parked at the library. I have no idea what this means or why someone would want to drive around with this plastered under their window. Is it religious? Atheist sarcasm? The message is lost on me! I keep hoping to see the driver, thinking it might give me a clue. |
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| This retailer is taking themselves a little too seriously . . . it's a 'privilege' to shop here? LOL, well, not in my opinion. Once again, the customer is always wrong. Actually, I know why they did this; there was a 55 year old woman, ironically named Karen, who refused to wear a mask and then refused to leave the store. Police arrested her on charges of trespassing, all while she held her cell phone aloft, videotaping the entire encounter. |
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I bought a new landline phone this year and it filters out a lot of the robocalls, so that my phone only rings once. Unfortunately, at least 3 get through per day, saying things like Unknown Caller or my favorite, Spam Risk. But this was a new one . . . Police Officer. Because yes, a police department's phone line would list something generic like that. I did not answer, so my voice mail picked up and it was a utility slammer. They are becoming wiser and trickier. This was a real person, giving her name and a phone number and asking me to call back to discuss an important matter regarding supply charges. The clue that it was fake is that she said to have my electric bill handy. But the kicker was that she left a reference number C59607! Can you imagine?? I wonder if they just make these numbers up for each call, or if it's written into their script?That's a wrap for this week. Anything strange going on near you? |
That party in hell sign is really weird. I have no idea what it's supposed to mean either. Let us know if you find out more. I really don't like that last one, it's just enough to make people panic and pick up the phone before thinking about it!
ReplyDeleteI think I will have a clue by seeing the age of the driver. LOL, maybe! The generic occupation on the phone screen made me laugh. Maybe scammers should try U.S. President next.
DeleteStrange indeed. Particularly that second one, which sounds so militant by using the capitalized ORDERED. VERY dramatic!
ReplyDeleteBut like your post title says, "These Are Strange Days." Yes, I totally agree.
The first one actually made me laugh. I think you're right, it has to be some sort of religious sarcasm about hell.
I too keep getting those Spam Risk notifications on both my landline and cell phone.
"The clue that it was fake is that she said to have my electric bill handy. But the kicker was that she left a reference number C59607!"
Yup...I've gotten that exact voicemail as well, I kid you not. Which is so bogus because I don't even pay my electric bill through the electric company. My apartment building is billed for each apartment every month, and then I get billed from my apartment company and then pay them directly.
And yes, there are LOTS of strange things going on in Philly. In fact, I may be posting about some of them in the upcoming weeks.
Have a stellar weekend, my friend! X
Lol, yes that sign is dramatic. It’s just a local discount chain, which makes it even funnier. Other people have told me they’ve received the utility slammers calls recently. Every summer, they knock on doors here. My No Soliciting sign has helped with that. Ooooh, can’t wait for your strange things post! Happy weekend!
DeleteThe "privlidge" claim is a bit silly, but the rest makes sense to deflect from the people who would rather be a victim then to just put on the stupid mask.
ReplyDeleteI was able to set my phone to not answer or ring any call not on my list. They can leave a message and I can see called numbers, but I am loving the no interruption thing. The attempts by these people is so transparent, but unfortunately I may be just a few synapse firings away from falling for their fraud. They do aim to rip off old people who are easily scared and easily confused.
My wife's name is Karen and she is not happy with this new term!!
When a retailer claims it’s a privilege to shop there, I do not feel like opening my wallet, that’s for sure. That sounds like a good phone feature. I’ll have to look at the manual to see if mine does that. Might not since it does the one ring thing already for robocalls that it’s preventing. And I have a friend named Karen who’s really pissed about the term!
DeleteHa! My sister's name is Karen, and she's wondering who she pissed off. . .
ReplyDeleteMy brother used to say that Hell is where the partying people will be. So, you know, maybe not. . . ;)
I just love self-righteous COVID theater. One more opportunity for folks to prove how they're better than the rest of us jackasses. You know, if it takes some kind of special invitation to shop in your store, I know others that just want to sell me their stuff. . .
I’m over Covid theatre, too. The worst are the parks that have signs about wearing masks . . . Zero science in that! But the stupidest are the outdoor patios that insist you wear a mask from the hostess station to your table. Because the air must not be moving until your ass hits the chair!
DeleteThere's a park near us where we like to walk; about a half-mile loop around a small lake. Lots of wildlife, which is a special treat in our mostly-urban setting. Someone helpfully posted arrows along the path, insisting that we all walk the loop in the same direction, I suppose with the idea of minimizing contact with other walkers (which might work - might - if everybody walked at the same speed). Contrarian that I am, I always walked against the arrows (especially once my antibodies kicked in), until other folks just tore down the arrow signs. It was kinda fun to see how people freaked out just to see me comin'
DeleteOh yeah, people are militant about walking in the same direction. As we have the Cuyahoga Valley NP here with lots of trails, there were folks on their Facebook page complaining about people not walking clockwise. Lots of people out there with extra time on their hands!
DeleteThat store's sign could have been worded better. The point that they should have made is the shopping there is a privilege, not a right. That would be in line with with the National Retail Federation which stated last summer, “Shopping in a store is a privilege, not a right. If a customer refuses to adhere to store policies, they are putting employees and other customers at undue risk.”
ReplyDeleteEven better would have been a simple sign stating the masks are required per state mandate.
Arkansas' mask mandate has been lifted. Stores can require masks, though, and most still have (less obnoxious than the one above) signs up. However, I've never seen mask wearing enforced. A lot of people are still wearing masks even with the mandate lifted. We've been vaccinated, but still wear our masks in public places. (Funny how there's been almost no cases of flu this year.)
My wife's name is Karen. She is more than a little irritated at the use of "Karen" as a pejorative term, though we actually had not heard about it until quite a while after it became common.
I guess it’s not a right to go into any public building, but neither is it a privilege for me to spend my money there. As a former retail employee, I empathize with them, as no one is paid enough to put up with all the crap they’ve been handed. All our stores here have HUGE signs on doors and windows about the mask mandate. This has been since July 2020 and has not ended. Unfortunately, I don’t see anything changing until new cases in our state go down to double digits.
DeleteOur cases are way down. Yesterday, we went out to eat locally for the first time since early March 2020.
DeleteI’m looking forward to eating inside at a restaurant. The weather has improved here, so we usually eat outdoors when we can, even before Covid.
DeleteYeah, that first one is clearly someone mocking religion and wanting to have the reader be in view as much as possible to judge reactions. Kinda akin to "My kid beat up your honor roll student" genre.
ReplyDeleteWe've come to avoid any stores that say much more than "Grand Poomba Cuomo says ya gotta wear it, so wear it!" or similar. Around here most stores that say much more than that will also critique your mask type, style, and method of wearing it and we just ain't got patience for that!
We changed to a new phone service recently and it has the option to now only block SPAM calls but also to enter preferred callers. The preferred callers have a different ring sequence so you can ignore anything else. Comes in handy because there are not that many legit calls to that number anymore.
But if it’s a senior citizen woman driving the car, I’m thinking it’s not sarcasm. I’ve not seen any stores requiring certain masks, but for the first time yesterday, the medical building I go to for my PCP is requiring ‘isolation masks’ instead of cloth ones (which we all know don’t do much anyway).
DeleteUgh. Spammers and telemarketers drive me nuts. That's a new low, even for them!
ReplyDeleteI have NO IDEA what the "fire in hell" sign means...
I was actually wondering if the fire in hell sign had to do with the environment 😂
DeleteParty in hell cancelled. I, too, am curious as to who would have such a sticker.
ReplyDeleteIt’s strange and the car is in the library lot at least 2 days/week.
DeleteThe police officer ID on the phone would freak me out and make me of course answer it until I got wise that it was a scam LOL.
ReplyDeleteFunny bumper sticker. I hope you can see one day who is driving so you can figure out why they might have that on their car. At my work parking place this morning the car next to me had a bumper sticker "I love gay porn" on it. Had to take a picture to text to hubby. Why would they advertise such a thing?
With the mask sign, keep it simple. Why all the drama?
In a few weeks I have a post coming up with weird pictures :)
Happy weekend!
betty
From everything I've read, there really is no authority or business who would contact you by phone; not the IRS, not a bank, not a credit card company, not a utility. If they need to give you information or get info from you, they will send it by mail. Basically, there's no reason to answer the phone unless you are expecting a call!
DeleteGood grief on the obnoxious bumper sticker. I just don't like people who do stuff like that for shock value. Immature, in my opinion! I look forward to your post with weird photos!!!
We get lots of spam phone calls from "your internet provider" (how telling that they can't name the provider) or from "Amazon Prime". We just put the phone down, but presumably they would be seeking a payment for something or other we've allegedly overlooked.
ReplyDeleteThe only strange thing round here is that so many people are prepared to sit outside a coffee shop in freezing temperatures just so they can have a cup of coffee and a snack. We'll be waiting until sitting inside is allowed again.
It's absurd to say shopping is a privilege. On the contrary, it's the shops that are privileged when we give them our custom and boost their profits.
Lol, that’s funny about ‘your internet provider.’ What’s next? ‘Your Mama’??? We’ve not had one that mentioned Amazon, but I get a lot of the Apple and Microsoft ones where they claim our computer has a virus.
DeleteI can understand the desperation to meet a friend for coffee outdoors, but I draw the line at 50 degrees if just sitting. And I agree totally about the retailer being the one who is privileged that we shop there.
I also don't get the sticker on the car. We are surrounded by weird people!
ReplyDeleteLaughing at Karen and her mask issue. If you don't want to follow suit, keep your ass home.
I get spam on my cell phone but now it usually says SPAM ALERT which makes me so happy. I do feel for the older folks who are often spammed by the phone calls.
We really are surrounded by weirdos! And some people just like to create drama with both the car stickers and refusing to follow mandates. Yes, the ones tricked by the spam calls are the seniors.
DeleteMy color is white for the car. I like white color brand new car very much. I dont like to see a sticker or stickers on the car. 55 years old Karen and her mask issue is really same problem all around the world. Have a wonderful and healthy day
ReplyDeleteI don’t like stickers on cars, either. It’s nice to know there are Karen’s all around the world! Haha!
DeleteI'm clueless about that sign on the car too, but wow! That is a seriously hostile sign on that store window! It would keep me from going there mask or no mask! I don't agree with the customer is always right stuff but customers are their bread and butter and better not to be so arrogant about it! Just a little lost business is lost money for their pocket!
ReplyDeleteAs a former retail employee, our mantra always was that the customer is always right. I feel as though it’s become the exact opposite this century and it really bothers me.
DeleteI kinda find the party in hell has been cancelled due to fire, kinda funny. I think they would still be partying since it's all fire and heat. Or maybe there's not really usually any fire so they freaked out because they finally got a fire and cancelled the party. I've thought about this too much.
ReplyDeleteLol, I’m just really confused by it!
DeleteThe car sign was amusing and perhaps that is its sole purpose because certainly everyone could use some humor most days. We have a similar Panasonic phone as out “landline” which is connected to the Internet service provider. It also rings once for spam calls and of course, they never leave a message. A few do get through like the “expired car warranty” ones, but Delete is a wonderful feature. My blocked call list is ever expanding😀
ReplyDeleteThat window sign was a bit much. Ones I have seen are much more direct, Mask Required, sometimes with the added wording, per City ordinance. Absurd yes to the outdoor park signs. We are fully vaccinated, but even before went maskless in areas where it was just us out and about, and on city streets as well.
Speaking of another covid annoyance, How about those places they want to sanitize your hands the moment you enter and/or take your temperature? No, thank you, to the hand sanitizer as I always have washed my hands...didn’t their mothers teach them that? Ok mini rant over and thanks for listening.
I do like the blocked call feature on this phone. I never wore a mask outdoors during this whole pandemic. I can understand if one is at an outdoor concert where you’re on top of each other, but those were all canceled anyway. I keep hand sanitizer in my purse if I need it. I don’t want to touch a public one, Covid or not. I’ve read that the majority of folks with Covid don’t even have a temperature.
DeleteParty in Hell? I'm getting a Catholic school flashback.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the driver owns a Buffalo chicken wings restaurant...or he just wants attention. The "privilege" line might be a legal term so the restaurant is covering its butt, so to speak.
I've seen the Spam Risk robocall warning; Potential Spam is a variation on that theme.
Of course, New York is the home of strange signs and graffiti and I'm constantly posting photos of them on Facebook.
The other day I saw someone had sprayed painted "Blob Dylan" on a construction site in the Village. Is that Bob Dylan's overweight twin...?
Take care!
Oooooh, I like the hot wings idea! Now that would be clever advertising. Blob Dylan sounds like the wacky license plates I see all the time. I imagine NYC is not lacking when it comes to strange sights!
DeleteLOL Yup, lots of odd signs around here. Long Island's full of them! One thing that kills me is this man that stands at the red light near an exit off of the LIE. He stands with a stroller next to him and a sign that says "HELP ME FEED MY BABY". He walks right up to your window and shoves the sign next to it. At first, I felt so guilty because I never carry cash and no child deserves to be hungry. But a few days later, I stayed late at work and saw him load his stroller and sign into a brand new Audi. Then he got in the car and drove away! He parked his fancy car at the Target around the corner. Scams are everywhere these days.
ReplyDeleteThat sign is lost on me too. I bet it has something to do with COVID. Like, we're cancelling everything due to COVID but there's risk everywhere?? Maybe?! You should leave them a post it on their sign to please explain because now we're all dying to know! lol
You know, that’s not a bad guess on the sign. It definitely could be a Covid thing! I saw a DOLL in a stroller in Vegas with a person holding a sign about feeding their baby! LOL! My husband has seen scammers drive off in fancy cars as well. I used to get pissed before I had a smartphone when I’d see them on their iPhones! Like, WTH? Give me some $!
DeleteSounds like a bad dad joke on the car door.
ReplyDeleteIt's fine to enforce the masks being worn in the store, but get off your high horse with the sign. A lot of these stores are really going to regret the rudeness they present when people exclusively stick to online shopping. I know I've bought more online this past year than I have in my entire life.
Those scam calls are so dumb. I get them all of the time telling me that if I don't return their call, a police officer will be showing up at my door to take me to jail LOL.
I think you’re right; online shopping is going to drive some of these retailers out of business. Ok, that’s nuts about the threatening calls! Talk about lawsuit material. It’s just hard to catch these overseas callers. Lately, I’ve had a real person calling me from ‘social security.’ I’ve answered twice because I was expecting repair people that day. The first thing they ask is if you can hear them ok, so I suspect they are recording your ‘yes’ to slam you somehow.
DeleteSometimes I watch those videos on YouTube where people mess with the scam callers just for some cheap entertainment. If my cousin has time, which he usually does lol, he'll keep them on the phone until they get frustrated and hang up on him. He figures it's time well spent since it's taking away time from them trying to scam the elderly. His daughter works in a bank and she said it's crazy how many old people get their accounts drained and there's nothing they can do about it since the old people willingly gave out their personal information to these scammers :(
DeleteI saw one of those videos. It was a woman cop doing the messing! Lol, I don’t have the patience, but your cousin is right, it prevents them from scamming others for that time frame. So sad about the elderly.
DeleteThat is the dumbest stick I have ever seen. I think the store is sticking up for what they believe. I don't understand why everyone feels the need to pull out their cellphone and video tape. Sometimes, wrong is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteMy neck of the woods is quiet. I don't do well with quiet for very long and will find some trouble to bring into my life again.
I know. The constant videoing of everything is over the top. Don’t get into too much trouble!
DeleteI wonder if that party in hell sign is in reference to all of the wildfires we have had but I don't know if that makes sense in your part of the country. Spamming is on my mind too as I am getting all kinds of nice calls for a guy named Larry. I am not fan of Larry's right now.
ReplyDeleteNo, we have constant flooding here, so a Noah’s Ark warning would be more appropriate! Good luck finding Larry!
DeleteIn this part of the world its mostly calls from advertisements. If I happen to pick up (and have the time to answer politely) I speak to them in a different language. Apart from English I know three other languages :-)
ReplyDeleteThat’s a brilliant idea!
DeleteThat bumper sticker didn't sound like anything any atheist I knew would say so I googled it. On eBay it's listed as a Christian Bumper sticker. It's a strange one, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteI never answer my phone any more unless I recognize the number.
I can’t believe you found it on eBay! Lol! I still want to see the driver. I saw the car at the library again this week. It must be someone who uses the computers because it’s not parked in the employee area.
DeleteThat's pretty nice that you phone filters out even some of the scam callers. It irritates me when the number looks like a local cellphone number, because then I always at least listen to the voicemail right away in case it's someone I know.
ReplyDeleteThe car sign is very strange. Please post about it if you ever find out what it's supposed to mean.
Yes, that local phone number trick is annoying! I will post if I ever discover the sticker meaning or at least see the driver. The car was at the library again today!
DeleteThe mask nazis can pound sand. End of story. ZERO science there, unless you count the science about how deleterious to one's health it can be to WEAR one. And a privilege for me to shop somewhere? The pirate thinks not. If I deign to walk into a store, class up the joint and consider spending my money there, the proprietors of said fortunate retail establishment should treat me as though I hung the moon and then invited them to gaze upon it. xoxo
ReplyDeleteLol, one of my favorite topics that I love to expound on with another blogger is the great lack of customer service these days. It’s non-existent except for Chik-Fil-A. The masks really didn’t bother me, but the idiocy of making people wear one while walking in a restaurant while everyone seated can remove theirs is the greatest scientific mystery of all time. Because I guess air doesn’t move?
Delete