The Mark(ings) of Zorro

The Mark(ings) of Zorro

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
H.L. Mencken

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More ruminations, rambles, rants and raves from the downhill side of the mountain.

Just so you know exactly where I stand vis-a-vis today's polarized politics, let me recommend this organization to you.

And I also recommend my gentle employer to you as well. The Barnes & Noble Affiliate Network, which seemed to have stopped working, is back in operation, so the links and banners are working again.

Now, go buy some books.

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And finally, here are a few books I might recommend for your edification and amazement.

What's the Matter with Kansas?

Saturday, April 26, 2003

by El Zorro Viejo (aka; Jim)

Musings
I was sitting here contemplating the pile of books I bought at work last night and thinking about all the money I saved with my employee discount when it dawned on me that, for the last 50-mumble years Madison Ave. has been playing a real number with my head. You see, even though I know that all the "savings" touted by people selling you things at a discount from list aren't really savings at all, I still am conditioned to behave as if they were. If one took advantage of all the "savings" available, one would go broke in record time (unless, of course, one had a lot of money). We are conditioned to think of "not spending" as the equivalent of "saving" when, in reality, they have nothing to do with each other. When we spend, money goes out, period. The only question is whether the discount offered makes the potential purchase affordable or not. Where I might balk at laying out $95 for books, $66 is back in my comfort zone (albeit only barely.)

I've been working for this major bookseller for six months now, and I have to admit that, for the most part, I'm enjoying myself. Granted, the pay is almost insulting (and I say "almost" only because, at this point, any money coming in is appreciated), but there are other benefits. First of all, we have cut my medical insurance costs by about $8000 per year. My out of pocket costs have gone up under this plan, but my premium costs have dropped by about 90%. And that means that, over the course of a year, we'll have about $8000 which we can use for paying other bills...no actual savings yet...just a slight shift away from the precipice. Then there are the customers I get to interact with. Here we have a mixed blessing; some of them cause me to seriously worry about the shape of the human gene pool. The majority, about half, are simply folk who want a book and need some help finding it, and I enjoy being able to help them. Then there are the other end of the spectrum from the first group; these are the people who are actually fun to interact with: Kids who get so excited and adults who approach me with humor and intelligence. It is these people who make my days truly rewarding. And then there are the cheap coffee refills, fortified by a shot of espresso, in my B&N mug which I get at a "substantial savings". One of those when I come in to work gets me through a shift with some energy to spare. However, my coworkers make up the real benefit of working at this particular store. There are artists, musicians, film-makers, and a other interesting people. One of my managers is a crackerjack bookseller who also firmly believes in...well, New Age-y type stuff. (You know, astrology, wiccan yada-yada...) Like I said, they are an interesting crew and they are keeping me young.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. ©El Zorro Viejo 2002-2005

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