Cigarette Lighter Purchase - not until you are 30!

The humble Cigarette Lighter

I drove to our nearby town today and stopped in at the Dollar Store to purchase a bottle of furniture oil as I oiled two outside wooded steps before I ran out and liked the results instead of staining or painting them, but this could be another topic for a blog eh!

They did not have any, so the next thing was to purchase a couple of smoke alarm batteries and cigarette lighters - it is still BBQ weather and beside I also smoke and roll my own!, but seriously considering buying a supply of these..as I am totally addicted to having something in my mouth and/or in my hand - I also bite my nails since I can remember, so it is not necessarily the addiction of nicotine that I crave (smokers will more than likely understand what I mean). Chewing gum just does not work very well either as it is a totally different action or participation to smoking.

I took the items up to the check out counter and the cashier rang up the batteries then asked if I was over 30 years old and looked at up at me and decided that I was. She informed me that between 18 and 30 they could decide whether they would sell to people or not..

I was quite astonished and queried why there was an age limit to buying lighters? Well, the long and short of this - Apparently there must be a lot of pyromaniacs and or firebugs around these ages!! There was a young adult male standing behind me at least 21 years perhaps 23, with his purchase and I turned to him and jokingly said to him 'sorry, you cannot buy lighters as you do not look like you are 30. What do you think about this shop and others thinking you could be a pyromaniac and not responsible enough to buy lighters?

He just gave me a sheepish grin and did not say anything at all to my question,
or appear to even understand or comprehend that one of his basic rights of an adult, had been refused him, all due to some other reckless, irresponsible people between the ages of 30 and under had done, and now he was paying the piper!!

Am I one of only a few who see the ridiculousness of this situation and also the horror that we have given and are giving up what we were given in the first place, to powers-that-be who think they know better than we do what is good for us?? The innocent are being proven guilty, while the guilty go free and the rules have to be changed because of their actions?

Well, you know as I see it.... Why the heck is the burden of responsibility upon the general public (You and me) and anywhere that the public goes to e.g. shops, garages, schools etc.. Have we become everyone else's keeper and baby sitters that no one takes responsibility for their own actions or parents take responsibility for their own children? Teaching their children what is right from wrong and learning that every action has a consequence - good or bad? Apparently not!

Parents do not even discipline their children, by standing firm with them - Meaning No, when they say No and there should not be any arguments about it..these parents are too scared to stand up to their children because the child screams and has a tantrum in the middle of Walmart or where-ever and embarrasses the parent that they give in..Whoop-de-do, so you get a little red faced as your child is laying on his stomach screaming at the top of his lungs and banging his fists on the floor - Get over it as many of us have been there and done that. I had to deal with my own son when he was little. This is what I did,
Ignored him, walk a little away from his tantrum and hid on the corner, keeping an eye on him but out of his sight - see how long he has his tantrum for.. not long once his audience, me (parent) has left the scene.

However, the children are parenting the parents because the parents are too frightened of embarrassment or even repercussions from other people who stick their noses in. The 'other people' are some of the worst, because they don't 'Walk the walk, nor talk the talk' they are quick to point the finger but are slow to give assistance or advice or understanding and support to give the parent encouragement.

Then there are threats from their own children saying they will tell their teachers, the Police or the Child Services etc because they have had it 'put in their ear' by these same authorities to say it! When their parents do try to stand firm and discipline like they should. Discipline does not necessarily mean smacking a child either, but many could do with a good swat on their backsides!! which is not abuse either. Abuse is such a totally different action upon a child, elderly or person and there is no mistake what abuse is and it does not come under 'discipline' either. Many times these authority figures have no business or real proof that abuse has taken place

We seem to have become a society of blaming other people and complaining 'It's not my fault'!
Everyone wants what is available and demand their rights to own, use, purchase etc, whatever they want, yet it is over half of these same people whom sit back and expect 'society', 'Government' or 'someone' to be the responsible groups who shoulder their burdens, so they don't have to do it and can sit back then protest because their children, public around them are not taking up their slack.

How long are we going to keep 'turning a blind eye, and deaf ear' to our God given Freedom of will? As long as we are abiding by God's law we are still in His GRACE. Yet each and everyday we seem to loose more of this ground that we were all given and are letting 'other people' then 'authorities' to dictate to us how we should be living, where we can shop, what age we can buy after attaining the age of 21 years which has been for many prior years been the age of Adulthood and consent? These authorities are very quick to give the vote to 'teenagers' at 18, and enlist in the Army and go to war on our behalf but they are not permitted to drink alcohol or in many cases buy cigarettes or buy a Lighter for the wood fire, BBQ, burn the paper in the incinerator/burn bin etc etc!!.



Amanda Martin-Shaver ©
20 August 2010

Store Cards

My husband and I decided we would shop at a new (to us) grocery store
called Bi Lo. We had seen several Big-rig trucks with their logo on
and wondered whether they were any cheaper than other grocery stores.
We did find some bulk meat which we bought and thought this was a
good bargain and with our other items in the cart went up to the
check out.

I asked the cashier at the time of him scanning if they had a store
card, he seemed to ignore me or not heard so I waited and when he
finished I asked again and his packing assistant (young woman) said
I was to go down the back and I could get one.

Strange to me as other grocery store had their applications under
the counter and would scan the card right there and then. You did
not even have to fill it out if you did not want to.

I followed the young woman to the desk and she pulled out the
application and asked me my name. I gave her my first name, she
wanted my surname, address, phone number and other information..??

What!!? Or no you don't. I asked was Bi Lo a membership store
whereby I had to pay a membership fee? No it wasn't, it was free
to get, but their store policy was to get all information on their
application before they gave their customers a store card to receive
the discounts.. How can they do that?

I informed her, that the reason applications were filled out, were
not to get discounts but to sell our name, address, phone number
information purely to sell to Marketers, email, phone lists etc
so they could call us with their business ventures. How else do
you think we get these Telemarketers etc calling us out of the
blue - Our information was sold. - It is a 'sneaky' method to
hoodwink unsuspecting people into giving their information, purely
to be sold to others as a profit!! If that doesn't 'get your
dander up just a little' nothing will!

My name is worth a lot to me and I do not appreciate it being sold
to other people without my knowledge of what anyone is going to do
with it, nor get the money they sell it for in the first place!!

All the grocery stores I have purchased from regularly across the
USA who have had store cards have not expected me to fill our their
applications, it has been purely voluntarily. I declined to fill
this one out.

When one thinks about these store cards, it is purely incentive
for their customers to buy more when they see discounted items on
the price tags so they buy more than what was on their list.

Customers should be able to buy these same products whether they use
a Store Card or not, it is all Hype that the general public has been
'programed' into accepting.

I did not give her my information and said I would not be shopping
at Bi Lo again with their Card store policy - there are many other
grocery stores I can pick and choose from.

I believe we have to guard our sensitive information and be prudent
with whom we give to and for the right reasons they need it. So
many people give this information without any real forethought who
is getting the information and what it will be used for.

Amanda

Vehicle insurance quotes

Through a survey site I was sent to a website for insurance quotes
so I thought, why not, I need to be looking to renew our insurance
on our vehicle before it expires next month.

I fill out the form, I cannot leave a cell phone number as I do not
own one, nor do I want one or need one. - enough said on this for
now! The good old land line is good enough for me!!

Not long after I finish filling out the form and sending onwards into
cyber space I received a call and spoke with a nice sounding guy.

Well I reckon all these customer service / sellers etc all seem to
think we will all jump on the band wagon and give out all our sensitive
information without any thought and accept all they say..Sorry, not
me. I am done with believing everything someone tells me or their
scare tactics I should do like a mindless zombie.

Have you noticed the stupid questions these employees are required
to ask?? who wrote these questions and why are these employees
saying anything to their employers they are stupid questions?

This guy Q (his family nickname) asks me for my name, address,
DOB etc etc which I had already filled out on the form, and said
so - Oh we just want to make sure you are who you say you are!!
- well who else would I be when you have called the phone number
I gave and you have already inquired if I am Amanda, which is me
upon answering!!

We talked about their different insurance options, benefits,
deductibles and what I could expect from the plan etc etc...I have
not had any claims or accidents in the last 3 years - even longer
but they were only interested in the last 3 years.

I don't drive talking on a cell-phone, or drink beverage or eat, or
put on my make up, or use my knees to hold the steering wheel
while I am doing something with my hands. (I can't multi-task at
the wheel so I don't bother) Nor do I tail-gate and I like several
car lengths in front of me, so I can react in time when so many
drivers give me 2 second warning they are going to turn in front
of me - yet so often I see all these things I mention from other
drivers and my space I make between the car in front and
myself suddenly disappear because someone decides they
want to be in there and causes me to brake to let them in!!

How many of us hear another driver say "I have never had an
accident?" yet you see them doing some or all of these multi-
tasking while driving and wonder 'how many accidents did they
cause'??

I only drive about once per week to town to do my errands over a
normal period of time, so I am not racking up the miles in a usual
week. However, the many scratches and small dents on the sides
of my pickup from shopping carts or doors being opened against
the side of my vehicle from thoughtless drivers or passengers,
could give the impression of a different story. Yet I know our
vehicle is not the only one that has these marks.

He then asks me for my Social security number so I could get
a better deal than quoted depending on my credit score and
he said that he has given me the best prices from dozens of
insurance companies and he could start me right off now as
these quotes change within minutes and go up!!

What rot... what kind of fool does he think I am?? If all these
dozens of insurance companies are vying for my membership
then why in the world would they be putting their prices up as
we speak??

Also why would insurance companies want with my SSN and
credit score,my credit is not the issue here, but my driving
record is.

Funny how, when you point these things out to them, they seem
to stop in mid verbatim and try and come up with the answer
which does not sound very convincing to me why they need this
information.

Well the long and short of this exercise, I will be changing our
insurance but not because I have been told I should be doing it
right now before the prices go up but when I am good and ready
and not before.

Aren't you also tired of these lame excuses and brow-beating
spiels of getting our business.

Amanda