I made two trips to Costco today; one to pick up a batch of VHS tapes, and one to return a mini-stereo whose tuner was truly putrid (it received at least two FM stations simultaneously, which wasn’t quite what I was looking for). Both times, the store was fairly uncrowded; that won’t be the case on Friday, I suspect.

I was very pleased with my experience in returning the mini-stereo; I had bought it a couple of months ago but hadn’t gotten around to trying it until last weekend, after the new carpet had been installed and we were reloading our bedroom. Since it had been more than 30 days, and since I’d managed to lose my receipt, I really didn’t expect to be able to return the unit, or if they took it back, I expected a hassle. I was wrong — no hassle. There was one small problem, though — since I didn’t have my receipt, they couldn’t credit my Amex card; they had to give me my refund in cash.

And I’ll bet the unit doesn’t go back on the shelf with a “tested by an earlier customer for your convenience” sticker, unlike Fry’s.

Happy Thanksgiving

The pecan pie’s already made; the turkey is in the refrigerator, along with a ton of salad and side dishes. Tomorrow may not be the best day for my diet!

I hope you have a great holiday, too.

Jeff Klepper, a well-known Jewish singer/songwriter, performed at Shir Hadash a few months ago. As is typical at such a performance, he was selling CDs; his latest, “Live in Concert”, wasn’t yet available, but it would be mailed when it was ready. No problem; I wrote a check and forgot all about it.

Cut to today: a padded envelope arrived at my house, with handwritten addresses; the return address appeared to be “Zahar”, with a post office box in West Roxbury, Mass. I couldn’t think of anyone in West Roxbury who’d be sending me anything, especially something in a padded envelope with extra tape. It looked suspicious. In fact, it came awfully close to meeting the FBI’s profile of suspicious packages.

I stared at the package for a while; I tried Google searches for Zahar and Roxbury, and for the PO Box number. No dice.

So I finally did what the FBI recommends — I called the police. The officer who came out said that they’d gotten lots of calls like mine last fall, and that they still get a few every month, and that they’d much rather have someone call than take a chance. But after he’d looked at the envelope, he was fairly sure it would turn out to be innocuous, so he suggested we go outside and open it.

He opened it, and a CD came out. It was Jeff Klepper’s “Live in Concert”. And then I realized that the return address was probably “Zohar” rather than “Zahar”.

I haven’t played the CD yet, but I expect to enjoy it!

Jeff Klepper replies:

David,

This is a very funny story. But seriously, I do apologize for the
unintended inconvenience. You were right to be cautious.

Last Monday was a comedy of errors so your story doesn’t surprise me.
After being promised they would be ready on Friday, but sorry, no go, and
biting my nails over the weekend, I had just rushed from the pressing plant
and wanted to get the CDs in the mail since I had promised them by the 20th.
So my daughter and I addressed them at a Peet’s Coffee, then we realized we
didn’t have a stapler and begged the post office folks to lend me their
scotch tape. I guess I only missed by a day. The PO Box is for my record
company, Zohar Records – yes, printed labels would be a very good idea.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Enjoy the music. And now, like the folk-tale Joseph The Tailor, you have a
story of your very own to tell.

And so I have.