amarant's Blog

I live in Cooper Young with my children.  I keep my home and yard clean and neat as everyone should.  So why, why do jets dump their fuel on our heads while we sit on the porch, having quality family time together, in the evenings?  The enviromental impact cannot be good.  Plus what effect is this having on our health?  I realise Fedex is a major employer here in Memphis.  Does that give them the right to make us all sick?  Surely there is another answer other than dumping fuel over the top of a heavily populated area. 

You know, I watched the debates last night.  In some ways they went pretty much like I figured they would.  We really have to have some changes, we cannot survive four more years of the same.  Name calling is not going to solve any of our present problems.  I did like what Obama said about AIG executives and their $400,000 junkit (sp?) they took.  We need to hold these executives responsible for their greed and thoughtleessness.  Enough is enough.  Deregulation has only led to greed and corruption, the rich have gotten richer and the rest of us are apparently paying for it.  The thing that really bothered me with the debates was that while they would say I am going to adress an issue or work to achieve something.  Neither candidate would actually state what steps they intended to take in order to implement these changes.  However, when McCain called Obama "that one" instead of addressing him with respect as Obama did him each and every time it made me very uncomfortable.  Who does McCain think he is  to disrespect another person in that manner?  So what did everybody else think about the thing?

I saw a bumper sticker today that really said it all about politics here in Memphis.  It read, "Stop repeat offenders, don't relect them".  Seems fairly obvious doesn't it?  However, it happens here every election.

Okay everybody sit down.  I actually have something positive to say about MLG&W.  We needed a new water meter (ours was leaking, defective, etc) they finally came last week and replaced it.  Of course that is not all of it.  In the process of installing our new meter the water pipe that feeds our house was broken.  The MLG&W employee freely admitted that he had done it and gave us his name and employee number along with a phone number for the claims department.  Silly me, I thought it would be simple from there, wrong.  Okay I followed instructions and called the claims department at the designated time.  I was then instructed to call back before 5 that night and I would have a claims adjuster who would fix all of this.  I called back at 4:30 and was given the claim number and put on the line with the adjuster.  Stupid me, I did not think it would be any kind of an issue at this point.  I mean if me or my kids break something we have to fix it immediatly.  At this point I was told to call a plumber and have it fixed and that I would be reimbersed.  Okay at this point I started asking questions.  Exactly what kind of credentials did this plumber have to have, would we need a permit, and last but not least when would I be reimbersed.  The plumber had to be liscensed, certified, and bonded.  They did not know if we would need a permit.  And as far as being reimbersed, well that would depend.  First of all claims are processed as they are recieved (I could possibly die of old age first) and then they were only willing to pay the charges they felt were reasonable.  First off, like most people my income is limited, I really don't have a bunch of spare money to be exact none is how much spare money I have.  Okay on with the story, I talked to a qualified plumber.  I was informed at the least it would be $500.00 dollars.  Needless to say I began to get upset.  So this morning I called claims again and asked to talk to the supervisor.  Ms Bone was very nice.  I explained that I just simply do not the money to hire a plumber to fix what they broke.  She told me to let her see what she could do.  I waited until about 4 this afternoon and called her back.  At this point I was informed that they were discussing my case and they would call me back in few minutes with a resolution.  Ten minutes later my phone rang it was MLG&W.  A plumber was on the way and everything was going to be okay.  Its fixed now.  I suppose this goes to show that if you are right sometimes things really will work out.  I am steadily thanking the Lord what a wonderful blessing.

I don't know how many people were affected by Comcast's signal issues over the weekend, but I was.  On several seperate occasions their broadcasts (all of them) were interupted.  Their signal just went away.  I was remaining basically fairly calm about this until Saturday night.  I was up later than usual because there was a movie on that I was really enjoying.  So here it is the middle of the night and the movie is getting to the end, it's all good right.  Not, seven minutes before the end, no signal.  The screen full of static lasted until less than one minute from the end.  Most of the characters seemed to have survived, I guess it came out okay.  Before you ask, there is nothing wrong with our equipment or connections.  The problem is with Comcast.  You know, they expect, no they demand, their bills to be paid in a consistent uninterupted manner.  It's ridiculus that you can't say that about their service.

Me and mine live in Cooper Young,and the rats, ugh!  I'm not the least bit surprised that Memphis has ranked 18th in rat populations.  I have spent a small fortune on poison, the health department has put out tons, all to no avail.  I keep my yard neat and tidy and my grass cut.  As advised, no debri of any kind is on my property.  I was told they didn't like moth balls (I don't really either) so I put them everywere.  I have six cats (they aren't winning either).  These awful creatures dig holes in my flower beds, which makes me mad.  Anybody out there have a new suggestion?

I know, the one who's getting that outragous raise, that reject we have for a mayor, he should fix it.  I know that's another subject, but it is an interesting thought.

Apparently lots of people are having this problem.  I know everybody in my neighborhood is.  This is a health and sanitation issue that needs to be addressed. 

I was reading the news online.  An assistant US attorney is being held without bail on charges in regard to him making arrangments to have sex with a little girl.  He traveled all the way from Florida to Michigan in order have sex with this child.  Thankfully it was a sting operation and he was arrested upon arrival.  This man is envolved in all sorts of activities involving children, that's scary.  It looks like he was quite successful in getting himself prosecuted, thank goodness.  This is just an unbelievable situation.  Parents guard your children well, there are some real sickos out there.

Okay everybody sit down.  I got home from work and my utility bill had arrived in the mail.  Needless to say I sat down ( self preservation, you understand ) it was actually less than usual.  Kind of scary isn't it?  At this point I began reviewing all the charges etc. to attempt to understand a bill that was approximatly $70 less than what I expected.  As it turns out there is a credit on the gas charges.  This is a utility bill credit adjustment for MLGW natural gas customers.  I know it's shocking.  I don't actually really understand this Special Report thing they sent me.  Oh well maybe we'll get back a tiny drop of what we were overcharged. 

I am the mother of four sons.  I have never allowed my sons to have toy guns.  Guns are not toys.  The only games that you can play with a "toy gun" is to pretend you are shooting some one.  Why in the world would you want your child to learn to do this?  The truely sad thing is that so many do not consider the consequences of the behavior they accidentally teach their children.  As parents it is our responsibility to teach our children what is and is not acceptable behavior.  I personally feel we should teach our children to grow up to be an asset to society.  Setting a good example for them is one of the best ways to teach them how to be productive members of society.

The weather has warmed up so the consumption of natural gas has decreased.  Now MLG&W has tacked on an extra charge for electricity.  Once again all the hard working bill paying citizens are victims of poor management choices made by MLG&W.  There is a huge power plant in Shakerag TN that was built a few years ago.  This power plant was supposed to supply the electrical needs for our area.  MLG&W was to be the owner of this new facility.  In their infinite wisdom it was decided that after investing millions of dollars into it that they would stop making payments on it and let it go.  So now we have to purchase power from them.  Thats not very bright.  That is why on our utility bills the electricity is adjusted for the cost of purchasing electricity.  I truely hope that when the investigation of MLG&W is complete and the truth is finally out about all of their misdeeds that we can have decent honest reliable people in charge of our utility company.  We the citizens of Memphis deserve that.

Well I got my new MLG&W bill, thank God, it's lower than the last one.  After the last one we had to quit using the furnace and start using small electric heaters.  Thankfully the weather has warmed up.  On my new bil the gas charge is $286.63.  The only thing we have used gas for is cooking and hot water.  Still seems outragous to me.  There is an adjustment for purchased gas added on the charge for gas and another adjustment for TVA fuel cost on the electric.  The final kicker is on the back of the envelope that you use to mail them the payment in it says "Thank you for allowing us to serve you."  Like we have a choice.  As the weather has pretty much gotten warmer I suppose the gas prices will remain constant and the electric will go up.  All of us (the regular working people) cannot continue on much longer if this keeps up.  We need to clean house and get rid of the graft and corruption.  Until this happens our city is going to continue to decline.

My last utility bill was so unreasonable.  I don't understand how it could be correct, I really don't think it was.  My bill for one months service was $790.  The bill for the month before was $388.  I called and talked to one of their company representatives, she also thought my bill was incorrect.  Arrangements were made to have my gas meter reread due to the fact my bill for gas alone was $600.  I was instructed to call MLG&W back after 4 the next day.  I did as I was told and called back the next day after 4.  The lady I talked to informed me that when they reread my meter it was apparent that my bill was for the wrong amount and I would be getting a new lower bill in a few days.  I waited almost two weeks on a new bill.  When it didn't arrive I called MLG&W again.  I explained, one more time, the whole situation and that I had not recieved my corrected bill.  The lady on the phone looked up my account and told me that she could see a notation about having my meter reread.  Then she informed me that my $790 bill was correct and that I wasn't getting a new corrected bill.  I had to pay the bill, really what choice does one actually have, they are a monopoly in the truest sense.  Some thing needs to be done, it's not right.  The scandal with utility company is negativly effecting the economics of the citizens of our city and is unacceptable.