I Have An Answer

Everyone wants to know why the economy is in the tank. I think I know.

People have quit the truth. You cannot trust anyone.
When your mechanic, stockbroker and electrician all feed you a line--it becomes expensive.
By the time you are finished paying for what does not need to be fixed, you have nothig left to shop at Walmart or anywhere else.

Case in point: Hubby wanted an extra plug in for his garage. $200.00 sounded like an ample amount to pay.

Oh no, that would never do--in order to have one extra plug in we must replace our electrical outlet box and if we did not to do that our house might burn down.

Our house is 23 years old.
The cost would be $1500.00--not exactly pocket change.

We started thinking about our neighbors--why weren't their houses burning down?

I began speaking of our daughter's house in England.

Why, when we redid her kitchen and hired an electrician had he failed to replace her electrical box--her house was over 50 years old and the electricity in the UK is higher voltage?

Dave went to the barber who told him it was hogwash.

If everyone could just be as straightforward as the barber--think of the money we woud save.

We hope he is right. If not, our fire nsurance is up to date and we have $1500.00 to shop for Christmas.

Thank Heavens for Barbers!

Jackie hasn't let me go to a barber since 1981. "A waste of money she says," and grabs her scissors and clippers. Is that why I never get the straight dope?

She does a pretty neat job!

Alice,

I have to agree with your husband's barber--that sounds like hogwash! Happy shopping!

I have an answer, too.

I just really confused about what the question is.

My David hates to go the the barber and a couple of years back brought me home a present of the god awful hair cutting shears complete with instructions on how to do any number of styles. Some had angles in the back and shavings up the sides and sprigs that were supposed to stand tall in the front.

What he wanted was short but with qualifications.
I do not see that well up close, so I got my magnifying glasses on, read the book and proceeded with trepidation.

He says, "Not to worry, how bad can it get. The worst that can happen is I am bald!" I laughed at that!

He is sitting there by the picnic table, full light of day, did not want a mirror.

I began to shear, timidly.

After a while he picked up the mirror and said, " Just go ahead and cut my hair!"

He put down the mirror.

I kicked that shaver into high gear.

I gave it my best shot.

I handed him the mirror.

He went into the house to have a close perusal in the big mirror.

When he came out, he said, "See these little uneven hairs on my sideburns? Could you even them up with the sizzors. and, this suff over my ears...could you just trim that so it is even and not hanging over the top of my ears??"

I am not prone to glaring. But I do believe I came close on that afternoon out there by the picnic table.

I snipped a bit with the sizzors and he went in and had another look. It was not quite right.

I fixed a drink.

He decided to finish the trimming himself.

I have never had to do another haircut.

God is good!

Love,
Betty

Alice,
you may have opened a can of worms with this thread.
Trade people are trained to create more business and they are given a financial incentive to do that. I have many stories concerning that but I'll bore you with just one.
This past year my daughter's AC system wasn't producing enough cold air and the coils were freezing over. So they called the AC man. He said there was a leak in the coils - somewhere and it would require a special device to locate the leak at the cost of $100 unless it took more than a half hour to find.
A young man came with his equipment and claimed there was a leak on the outside system. He said that coils are not repaired and they would have to purchase a complete new set of coils for the unit. However, after calculating the price of new coils, he said that he would recommend an entirely new system. Why pay so much for repair when for just another $1500 they could have an entirely new system? My son-in-law happens to be a mechanical engineer and questioned much of what the guy said. He called a competitor to evaluate the system who claimed there was no leak in the coils. He filled the fluid (freeont?) and the AC was fine. My son-in-law called the first repair firm and told them about the incident. They sent an "expert" to re-evaluate the system. They found a small pin-hole where some "freeont" was leaking and he repaired it for $150.
Just as with medical opinions, a second or third opinion is well worth the effort. I could talk about my experience with auto mechanics but that's another story.
Who knows, perhaps someone will write a book about the problems encountered with the repair trade. If they make reference to "Joe the Plumber" it may be a big seller.

Dick ,

You are probably getting the straight dope plus a great haircut--Jackie is fantastic.

Betty

Your cute story reminded me of my folks. Dad was very vain-- aso cheap. He decided Mom should cut his hair.

He would look at it from every direction when she was through and keep at her to fix this and that until she messed it up-- then they would laugh until they about died and he would wear a hat until it grew out.

Abe,

Write the book-- it would probably be a best seller.