Psst...Hey Buddy.

I've been thinking about commercial advertising this evening, ever since I saw a Visa ad on the football game. Before I get to my chief complaints, a word about the football game, sort of. The game is between the Philadelphia Eagles, also known as my team and the New Orleans Saints, also known as the guys that I hope lose. I don't know about anyone else, but I am tired of hearing about how New Orleans has bounced back from the effects of the hurricane. If you choose to live below sea level, I can't escape shelling out my tax dollars to support your folly, but don't expect me to tell you it is a good idea. If the Saints make it to the Super Bowl, we will be pounded by the feel good stories about New Orleans. I can't take it. Daughter Sneed was a proud member of the United States Navy for four years, much of it spent stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana. This gave the lovely Mrs. Sneed and me the opportunity to see New Orleans up close and personal. I am totally sympathetic toward the victims of the hurricane, but I have to tell you that before the storm the Big Sleazy was impoverished, crime-ridden, politically-corrupt, vermin-infested, humid dump, surviving on drunken tourists and river traffic. People who made the choice to not go back after the clean up made a good decision. You can get rid of the wreckage and rebuild the city, but the same problems exist. Folks who tell you that New Orleans is the best place to live, have never lived anywhere else. About one-third of the population that lived within the city limits left and hasn't returned. Just saying. Anyway, back to the commercial. As a rule I don't watch advertising on television. Being an over-the-hill old skinflint makes me resistant to the lure of stuff and the folks selling stuff. One of the many beauties of Tivo is that I can record what I want to see and skip through the commercials. When I watch live TV skipping through isn't an option, so I saw this Visa commercial. The commercial showed a bustling carryout restaurant where employees and patrons are working together like a precision drill-team. Every toss is well-timed and greeted by an smooth reception. That is until some knucklehead pulls out cash, with which to pay, and the whole ballet grinds to a halt. Did you ever think that paying with cash would be looked down upon? Visa is trying their best to convince us. The lovely Mrs. Sneed and I went to the mall today with Daughter Sneed and Sneedlet. While it was busy there, it wasn't packed. I even got a spot in the covered parking. The two biggest malls in our fair city are owned by General Growth Properties, one of the largest mall owners in the United States. While they do a fine job of managing and maintaining these properties, I have one complaint about their operating strategy. Perhaps you haven't noticed this, but maybe you have. This may not be exclusive to General Growth, but at our malls the center of the mall wings are occupied by kiosks (booths) selling stuff. These kiosks are making use of and providing revenue from space that would otherwise be devoted to foot traffic. Pretty smart management. My complaint is not that the kiosks are there but rather about the type of businesses they attract. In the lofty world of retail, they are known as fly-by-night. I am tired of being accosted by guys selling cellphones. I was asked a half dozen times today what cellphone company I use. Even if you tell them you are a customer of theirs already, they badger you to upgrade your phone. Another gang is the skin cream and skin cream-related businesses. Their salespeople barge up to you, product in hand, offering to sell you the newest remarkable cream, good for whatever ails you. I recently had some woman with no medical training at all that I could discern, tell me that her mystery salve could cure my dry skin. Well, my dry skin is an actual medical condition, so I'm sticking with the dermatologist. The monthly co-pay at my dermatologist is cheaper than this mall voodoo cream anyway. We have some hustlers selling the latest gimmick toy, like the giant wooden glider, or an easy-to-use boomerang. No home should be without them. Need an alternative to Botox injections? We got it. Timeshare? No sweat. Fake granite counter tops, body jewelry, sunglasses, we got it all and I don't want any of it. One good thing that happened at the mall was that I bought a scratch lottery ticket to entertain myself while Sneedlet played at the playground and I won fifty dollars. Pretty cool. We had a nice lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and came home. Sneedlet is busily playing away. He took a nap on the way home in the car, so we are likely in for a late evening. Merle. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgemental and cranky Tag: Daily Life Personal Finance Humor