Gotta Petty Grudge? Secret Grievance? [Nothing Too Serious]. Foibles Welcome. No Judging!

Capt MJ

Capt MJ

Serviam.
15-Year Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Messages
24,105
Over in a serious thread about USNA plebe credit cards, I admittedly unraveled it with a story about my long-standing grudge against AMEX and its refusal to give employed women credit cards back in the last century.
@THParent revealed he shreds (gleefully) cc offers and mails them back in the postage paid envelope.
@OldRetSWO noted a familial ban on SPAM. The edible kind.
I then shared my mom’s aversion to pancakes and French toast, because that was all she and 12 siblings got to eat some days during the Depression.

Out of respect to that USNA thread which was serious in intent, this is a safe place where you can admit your long-held grudges, unreasonable quirks, etc. Get those feet of clay out where we can see them.
 
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Lawn service engines. We live in a subdivision of about 50 homes with either 1 acre or 1/2 lots. Not a DAY goes by where there isn’t a leaf blower, lawn mower, weed whacker or power washer going on within earshot of my back deck. Numerous different companies used by our neighborhood ensure they all show up on different days of the week. On the weekend, the more thrifty homeowners fire up their own small engines and take a few hours to mow their own lawns. Takes forever with one person on it, of course. Never really noticed until work @ home / COVID had me on the deck working when the weather cooperated.
There’s actually some movement underway to ban the massive ride behind leaf blowers. These things can probably be heard from 2 miles away… https://sleequipment.com/fb2000-5901811-blower.html
 
2020HD said:
Lawn service engines. We live in a subdivision of about 50 homes with either 1 acre or 1/2 lots. Not a DAY goes by where there isn’t a leaf blower, lawn mower, weed whacker or power washer going on within earshot of my back deck. Numerous different companies used by our neighborhood ensure they all show up on different days of the week. On the weekend, the more thrifty homeowners fire up their own small engines and take a few hours to mow their own lawns. Takes forever with one person on it, of course. Never really noticed until work @ home / COVID had me on the deck working when the weather cooperated.
There’s actually some movement underway to ban the massive ride behind leaf blowers. These things can probably be heard from 2 miles away… https://sleequipment.com/fb2000-5901811-blower.html
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One town near me has banned ALL gas powered leaf blowers and my town and others are considering it.
 
I grew up in a rural town, on 10 acres surrounded by orchards and vineyards. We also bred parakeets (picture upwards of 5,000 of them needing care daily). Lots of hard work, plenty of chores, wood to chop and stack, no central heat/air, no dryer, lots of clothes to hang, cloth diapers for my younger sister, etc. No end to the chores that had to be done.

My dad used to make us carry around tiny little spiral notebooks to jot our chores down. He would at the drop of a hat, randomly ask us to show it to him. I hated it. Hated it. HATED IT. Did I say I didn't like it???

It didn't occur to me until our DS plebe summer last year that this was likely a hangover from his time at USNA when asked to recite rates and all of those other things plebes had to do. Maybe it was, maybe just my crazy father's machinations. Who knows.

To this day, I will not write a list. Not for groceries, not to-do lists, not packing lists. NO LISTS for me. It's a visceral thing, really. I just turned half a century and my grudge will last the next 50 years, guaranteed.
 
Was born in a steel mill town in Central PA where people would still spit when they heard Henry Clay Frick's name. My NYC friends are amazed when I tell them that I won't go to the Frick museum in Manhattan because of how he made the money to buy all those paintings.
 
I hated Craftsman tools and by extension Sears, with a passion for years.
When SEARS went belly-up, it was expected and I was happy about it. Now, Stanley Black & Decker owns the Craftsman brand and sells their junk in Lowes.

My first real run-in with Sears was in 1990 (I think) when I ordered twenty-four (24) gallons of custom-tinted paint and went to pick it up. They would not take a credit card OR a check. It was around $20/gallon (it was pretty good paint at the time) and I didn't have $500 in cash on me at the time. Most people I know don't carry that much cash, so I asked "well if you won't let me write you a check or take a credit card, how do you propose that I pay for this?" their only answer was "Discover Card or cash", so I said; "That's okay, you keep the paint", and walked out.

I went home fuming and asked my wife for a big favor. I asked her to go every day to see if they put the paint out on the clearance rack.
The 4th day was a charm, because she bought all 24 gallons for $2/gallon and paid cash.

Check and Mate.

My Craftsman story isn't quite as good as that one. ;)
 
When I was in college many many years ago I worked in the drafting computer lab and kept it open on Saturday mornings for those that needed the extra time. The room with the drafting tables was big and open but the computer room was about 8'x12'.
One Asian gentlemen would come in and always needed help. To put it as politely as possible, his smell was overwhelming. I would leave at noon and go shower and throw my clothes in the trunk of my car before driving an hour to my parents house.

To this day I cannot and will not eat oriental food. The closest I can get are frozen eggrolls you microwave. My in-laws took us to a Korean bbq one time and I had to leave part way thru the meal. I'll go without before I eat oriental.

And live in the cashew chicken capital of the world. I have never eaten it.
 
Any dessert with booze in it. And yes, I know I am missing out on a lot of good stuff. As a little girl, I went to a holiday party with my parents. I saw a plate of round spherical kinda chocolate brownie things. I ate 5. They were heavy-duty rum balls. I threw up 5, plus everything else I had eaten or drunk, in the truly horrifying way that little kids can barf in every direction, on every white dry clean only surface, including my mom’s favorite red satin pumps and my best blue velvet party dress. I also smelled like rum. I can’t even get a whiff of booze-stacked fruitcake, rum cake, chocolate-filled liqueurs, any of it.
 
THParent said:
I hated Craftsman tools and by extension Sears, with a passion for years.
When SEARS went belly-up, it was expected and I was happy about it. Now, Stanley Black & Decker owns the Craftsman brand and sells their junk in Lowes.

My first real run-in with Sears was in 1990 (I think) when I ordered twenty-four (24) gallons of custom-tinted paint and went to pick it up. They would not take a credit card OR a check. It was around $20/gallon (it was pretty good paint at the time) and I didn't have $500 in cash on me at the time. Most people I know don't carry that much cash, so I asked "well if you won't let me write you a check or take a credit card, how do you propose that I pay for this?" their only answer was "Discover Card or cash", so I said; "That's okay, you keep the paint", and walked out.

I went home fuming and asked my wife for a big favor. I asked her to go every day to see if they put the paint out on the clearance rack.
The 4th day was a charm, because she bought all 24 gallons for $2/gallon and paid cash.

Check and Mate.

My Craftsman story isn't quite as good as that one. ;)
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Brilliant.
 
Now for the Craftsman story.

I was gifted a complete set of Craftsman tools (in a grey steel Craftsman tool box) in 1976 from my Dad. It was truly a great set of tools and my favorite thing was that over the years if a ratchet broke (the gears inside sometimes let go after too much force was applied on stubborn automobile fasteners) I would just take it in to Sears and they would replace it with no questions asked and no waiting in line. I did this several times over the decades because they were guaranteed for life, unlike any other tool of which I was aware.

Fast forward to 2015. I dropped my torque wrench on the pristine but nonethless hard concrete floor of my garage and the plastic cap (used to adjust the torque settings) shattered into several pieces. Sure, I could probably go on using it, but decided to take it back to Sears for a replacement. Finding a Sears still open then was sort of a trick, but I managed to find one not too far away and drove there.

I went in the place only to be greeted with my torque wrench right there on display. Amazingly in all those years, the design and appearance had not changed one iota. They were $99.95 and came with the same black plastic box that my original came in. I took it to the counter like a badge of honor with my broken one and ask the clerk to replace it. He tells me that "torque wrenches only have a 90-day guarantee" and he can't replace it for free.

Fireworks ensued.

After a few choice words, the clerk's manager was painfully aware that when I received this torque wrench as a gift only a scant 39 years prior, that Sears had indeed sold it with a UNLIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY. and that since I was clearly still alive and had the aforementioned torque wrench in my still-very-much-alive hands, that I was not leaving the store without my free replacement torque wrench. I believe that everyone in the store that day was privy to my plight and to my steadfast resolve in procuring my much-deserved warranty replacement.

I got the wrench and it was free, but they did mention that this one only came with a 90-day warranty.

I was okay with this, because if this one lasts another 39 years past 2015, that would make me 93 years old and I'll either be dead or not turning torque wrenches anymore.
 
cb7893 said:
I can't wait for @Devil Doc 's laundry list of pet peeves.
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Hold my beer.
Northern Virginia traffic. Today starts the race to Florida season. Are there no beaches in the northeast?
Out of date and out of state license plates. Really? How about helping pay some taxes around here.
People asking how my weekend was. They really want to tell you about theirs's.
Not asking if I want anything from Chick Fil A, even if I've said no the last 20 times you asked.
Watching co-workers eating Chick Fil A when I have none.
Complementing someone's cake and they don't know "moist" is a compliment.
Telling me a long gossipy story but leaving out the scandalous part. "Oh, I told him I wouldn't tell anybody."
I loathe being late. For anything. It doesn't bother me it anybody else is late. That's on them.
 
Just what this thread needs, that a craftsman story. That righteous fury flavor.
 
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