Library Notes
November 5, 2003
By Pansy Hundley, Librarian.
I do believe that mowing season is just about over. And none too soon, either.
While I was using my weed-eater about a month ago, it just up and died on me. One minute it was weed-whacking to beat the band and the next minute it wouldn't make a squiggle. I checked to make sure that my 900 ft. of extension cord didn't have a short. I plugged into another electrical outlet and that didn't help. So, I went to find my receipt, my booklet and my warranty. That lazy, non-working, dead weed-eater was about three months old when it died.
My warranty told me it was guaranteed for two years. So what did I do? I got on that 800 number to Weed-Eater Company and told them my sad tale.
The nice man there asked me my location and looked up a dealer closest to me. He told me he would check with that dealer and make sure it was alright to send me a new weed-eater to their location, for me to pick up.
When I asked him if I needed to send the dead trimmer to him, he said, no, just throw it away. But I didn't.
About a week and a half later, I had a phone call from the dealer in McKinney that my new weed-eater had arrived. I again asked "Do I need to bring you the old one?" No need for that, he told me. They didn't need it.
I set out to McKinney to collect my shiny new trimmer. I have learned over the years to go with my gut instincts. They are almost always right. I had already gotten in my car to leave the house when my gut instinct said "Go get that ole' dead weed-eater and put it in the trunk." So, that is exactly what I did.
After I got to McKinney and finally found the dealer, trying to follow the lousy directions I had been given, I went to find someone that would know what I was talking about. Sometimes that's hard to do.
I found a gal who went to find my shiny new trimmer in its' shiny new box and she found it right away. The first thing she said after that was "I need your old Weed-eater." Well, hurray for my gut instinct. I went over, opened my trunk and got her the weed-eater I'd been told to get rid of twice.
I like a company that stands behind its' products, without a big hassle, or trying to make it look as though you must have torn it up.
This new yeller-feller is a better model than the one I had. I like a company that does that too. Because I had a problem with their product, they sent me another one that cost more than the original product. That is such good P.R. but not many companies do that anymore.
I've only had occasion to use that yeller-feller one time. And it's a fast, powerful dude. I can say "Zap that!" and it has zapped before the "that" is out of my mouth.
Now that you know I have a new weed-eater to begin next years' mowing and yard care, and you got the rest of the story, I shall now enlighten you about Nora Roberts' new book, "Remember When."
She has, for several years, written mysteries under the name of J.D. Robb. "Now she unites her separate identities in a riveting two-part novel that combines edgy suspense and romantic passion -- and journeys through past, present, and future……" Okay, let us just see about that.
"In Part One, Nora Roberts introduces us to Laine Tavish, known to the folks in Angel's Gap, Maryland, as the proprietor of Remember When, an antique treasures and gift shop. They have no idea that she used to be Elaine O'Hara, daughter of the notorious con man Big Jack O'Hara…or that she grew up moving from place to place, one step ahead of the law. But Laine's past has just caught up with her. Her long-lost uncle has visited her shop, leaving a cryptic warning before dying in the street, run down by a car. Soon afterward, Laine's home is ransacked. Now it's up to her, and an enigmatic stranger named Max Gannon, to find out who's chasing her, and why. The answer lies in a hidden fortune -- a fortune that will change Laine's life.
In Part Two, J.D. Robb takes us to New York City in 2059, and puts Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas on the case. The treasure that Laine and Max sought has never been fully recovered. And now someone else is pursuing the missing gems. …..someone who's willing to kill for them. Sharp-witted and sexy, Eve is used to traveling in the shadowy corners outside the law, in a future where crime meets cutting-edge technology. She will attempt to track down the diamonds once and for all---and stop the danger and death that have surrounded them for decades."