Scam Artist

So, about two weeks ago (June 16, to be exact), I was sitting here at the kitchen table doing what I usually do in the mornings. For whatever reason, I was running behind, meaning, it was 10:00 or so and I was still messing around with this and that. It was pouring down rain (I think I might have been blogging about rain and random stuff). The doorbell rang. Frankly, I don't usually answer the door. I mean, chances are, it's not going to be anyone I really care to talk to. For whatever reason, though, I got up and answered the door this time.

A neatly dressed African American man was standing on the doorstep. He smiled politely at me and told me that he was one of my neighbors and that he'd foolishly locked his keys in his car, as well as his cell phone and wallet. He was wondering if he could use my phone to call his wife.

I said sure; told him I was going to go get my cell phone, and shut the door. When I came back out (and I stepped outside onto the doorstep with him), he called a number, waited a bit, then shook his head ruefully and said, "She must already be in the air. She's a flight attendant with Delta". I said, "Oh, sorry! We chatted a bit longer with him saying various things about the neighbors. I apologized for being a bit suspicious but told him there had been a robbery at the dollar store at the nearby shopping center and I'd just been reading about how the suspect was running around our neighborhood the day before. "You just have to be careful", I said, to which he nodded, agreeing with me. After a few more pleasantries, he said, "Well, I think I'll see if Mike around the corner is home, he sometimes goes into work late".

I told Mr. B about it and said, "I didn't really recognize him but he sure seemed to know everyone in the neighborhood".

Yesterday I was flipping through the local section of the paper and my eye caught on a picture of a man. The very same man who had rang my doorbell! Turns out he was a scam artist who had delivered the very same speech he gave to me to countless others in both Durham and Raleigh. Apparently, some of these folks naively let him into their homes at which point he stepped up the charade by asking for money for a locksmith. One guy actually drove him to his ATM to get money for the guy before realizing something wasn't quite right. What threw people off was a) he was well dressed and well spoken and b) seemed to know their neighbors. Turns out he canvased neighborhoods, looked into people's mailboxes to get their names/their neighbor's names, etc. Very cagey.

He's since been arrested but I have to admit to feeling sorta creepy about the whole thing, knowing he'd probably been watching our house, digging around through our mail (although he never did call me by name, come to think of it) etc. Thank God I am naturally suspicious of people (it NEVER dawned on me to let him into the house) and that Lucy, the big goof, was disobeying me that morning and came running over to the door. Chances are he wasn't terribly interested in entering a house with a big slobbery dog standing right there.

So, once again, it pays to be CAUTIOUS, folks. And, obviously, it makes sense to get to know your neighbors a bit so if someone comes to your door claiming to be one of them (and they are NOT), you can tell them bullshit, slam the door in their face, and dial 911!

Mrs. B

*Results Not Typical

Here is a quick entry about something I've never completely understood.

You know those weight-watcher programs? Any and all of them? They all seem to use advertisement, either TV or print or Internet, where they show some fat cow woman in a side-bar picture (who, in addition to being over-weight, usually looks frumpy and washed out) next to a picture of the same woman who is about 30-50 or more pounds lighter, wearing gorgeous clothes with hair and make-up done to perfection.

Or, my other favorite; a woman in the "before" picture wearing some saggy looking underpants and bra standing there with her shoulders slumped and a morose look on her face next to the picture of her "after"; wearing a real nice two piece bikini, high heels, and her best Miss America smile. Yeah, a few pounds lighter, too, but, it's amazing what a better outfit (worn correctly) and standing up straight will do for one.

Anyway, my rant today is, they use this sort of advertisement to lure in people; to get them to think, "Hey, if I eat reconstituted spaghetti and meatballs and cardboard tasting granola bars, I, too, can look like THAT! All for only $200 a week (or whatever the food costs)".

Then, next to the tag line of "Susie lost 75 pounds on our system!" is the proverbial asterisk (*) and this, "Results not typical".

Huh?

So, right off the bat, these companies are disclosing that it's very likely that, even if you followed their program to a tee, you're not EVER going to look as good as Susie.

And people STILL buy this crap.

WHY?

Everyone knows good old fashioned eating properly, drinking a lot of water and exercise is really the only thing that will take weight off (and keep it off) and make one looked toned. Aside from having major surgery (and most people don't need to do this, anyway), you just can't make a purse out of a sow's ear by throwing money at the problem.

I suppose these companies just prey on people's deep desires to be "skinny", and, they succeed on doing so EVEN WHEN they disclose that, basically, their product won't do a damn bit of good.

It's SAD!

Mrs. B