Other Thoughts | BulgingButtons

June 3, 2014
by BulgingButtons 8 Comments

An Open Letter to Whomever Stole My Son’s Bike

Dear Bike Stealer,

I use the term “dear” only because it’s a convention. I’m not feeling as though you’ve endeared yourself to me or my kin in any way, but be that as it may, the term “dear” stands.

I hope you really need that bicycle you stole today outside of the Jewish Community Center down at the end of the strip mall. I know that today is blistering hot, so I have to assume that you were out early to avoid the heat of the day. You were able to seize the opportunity to take the bike right off the bike rack between 8:00 and 10:00 am while its owner, my teenage son, was inside volunteering at the summer camp. He noticed it missing when they came outside to load up for their field trip.

It occurs to me, Bike Stealer, that maybe you’ve never been on a field trip. Maybe you’ve never been to summer camp. Maybe you’ve never, until today, even had a bike. I don’t know a thing about you, but deep in my heart I want to believe that your situation is dire. I want to believe that you are someone to whom life has dealt a crappy hand. I want to believe that you need that bike in order to get yourself to a job every day so that you can earn some money to support yourself. I want to believe that you struggled with the decision to steal it, but did so only because you felt like you were out of options.

My son has options. He can ride the small old bike that this one replaced (we planned on donating it, but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet). He can ride my bike, which fits him better than his old one. He can get a ride with me or my sweetheart. He has a plan B, a plan C, and plans D & E. Maybe you don’t.

Or maybe that’s not your story at all. Maybe you’re just someone who enjoys taking advantage of situations that present themselves. That bike rack is a little out of the way. I’m sure nobody was looking. That lock may have been easy to open. I’m sure it wasn’t the highest quality. Maybe you felt entitled. Maybe you felt that the universe was offering you a gift for being in the “right” place at the “right” time. Maybe.

Here’s the thing. You got a bike today. It’s a nice one. It was a gift from his grandparents and he had only ridden it about a half dozen times. You might as well enjoy it while you can, because if I know anything I know this: Karma is a bitch. Like I said before, Bike Stealer, I hope you need that bike, because if you truly do maybe Karma will cut you a little slack, even if you did knowingly take something that wasn’t yours. If not, though, good luck. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.

Sincerely,

The Mom of the Kid Whose Bike You Stole

May 30, 2014
by BulgingButtons Leave a comment

Just What Are You Trying To Tell Us?

This evening the local news featured a piece on several class action lawsuits that you, too, can “get in on.” The reporter mentioned that you probably should have actually purchased said products, which ranged from sunscreen to dog food to just about anything from Trader Joe’s, but the tone and message of the piece was “hey folks, these companies are giving out free money so hop on board and get your piece of the pie.”

Over and over the amounts that people could claim, without any receipts, flashed across the screen. The way they presented it made it sound like free money. I can imagine a person who is pinching pennies might think, “these companies don’t know whether or not I actually bought their product, so what would it hurt to make a claim?” After all, twenty dollars here and thirty-five dollars there can really make a difference when your family is struggling.

What are these suits about, anyway? Well, the dog food suit actually stemmed from some harm coming to some pets. That doesn’t sound unreasonable, but why open it up to just anyone who claims to have bought the food? Then there was the one from the fancy flip flop company. Apparently they claimed some health benefits that they shouldn’t have. Really, people? You’re going to sue a flip flop company because your feet still have issues after wearing flip flops? How is this sane? It’s like the person suing McDonald’s after spilling hot coffee. Coffee is supposed to be hot, isn’t it? You just have to be careful and use some common sense.

I believe we’re too quick to look for blame and to try to get something for nothing. I didn’t buy that sunscreen. I won’t put in a claim for the eight dollars or whatever it was, even if I don’t need a receipt. I know easy money is hard to pass up, but Karma’s a bitch, so I don’t mess with it. Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Is the world black and white? I don’t think so. You need to feed your babies, you need to keep safe, but do you really need twenty dollars from Trader Joe’s because they may have mislabeled some of their products? I doubt it.

May 28, 2014
by BulgingButtons 5 Comments

Five More Simple Things That Make Me Happy

1. Rediscovering my i-Tunes library, which I thought was lost in the cloud forever. Hello Barenaked Ladies, Goldfrapp, Shiny Toy Guns, and Big Audio Dynamite. It’s great to hear from you again.