Eye Contact

I have noticed the last couple of weeks starting about Thursday this old geezer has set up shop by the impulsive by me cooler by the front door of the store so that when you enter the customer must go right by him. This old guy has piles of newspapers and he seems to be operational between 3:30 PM and seven on these evenings of the weekend. At first I thought this was the newspaper groups way of salting the claim, I figured they had paper overruns and the overruns they would bring to the market and give them away hoping to entice consumers into purchasing a subscription. Then I realized this old guy was actually enrolling people right then and there into subscriptions but still I didn't pay much attention. I just rolled by carefully not making eye contact.

Paper Guy was there a couple weeks ago of course when I rolled in on Saturday afternoon just pick up a few things. And like a fool I made eye contact with the geezer like a Python he struck. “Hi there, would you like a paper?” Said he, “oh, I guess so” said I and it was downhill from there. He gave me a spiel about the newspaper subscription system. I countered saying that there was a plan to where I could just get the weekend that would be good maybe I would think about it but Paper Guy offered “ you know what Sir we do have a plan or you can get delivery from Thursday through Sunday.” I did not have a rebuttal at that point and in horror found myself saying “sure”. It was the middle of the month. And he said he can prorate the subscription as well as offered me a gift card to the market and he had $10 inscribed with felt tip on the plastic card. So I looked at the investment with the card which brought my whole investments to about 10 bucks. I figured this might be worth it. I pocketed the card run on my way.

Thursday the next week the first paper landed on my doorstep. The paper was wrapped in a range plastic bag usually reserved for papers on routes during foul weather. I figure that picked the paper up later that day and took off to my destination. I left the paper there that evening too busy to pick up. The next morning there were two papers. By Saturday, the third day, I realized the great truth I don't like the paper, not really. I like the idea of me sitting down on a Sunday morning and leisurely going to the paper with coffee and a bagel and a nice person. But you know what I don't really like that maybe if I had a nice person in my life but that would be more for time with the person than with the paper. I guess if I really had the energy I would harvest the cryptic quote out of the paper each day but you know what sense my great, ex-wife gave me a couple volumes of puzzle books I have all the puzzles I can deal with a don't need the papers.

As the month came to a close I made double sure that I contacted Utah Media Group to let them know I did not want the paper any longer. I talked to Melissa to said okay will shut it down, meaning my subscription. I was totally shocked on Monday morning, 1 May another paper landed on my doorstep. I didn't pay much attention to it and figure that's cool I'm sure just takes a day or two for the system to stop the process.. This morning there was another paper. I launched into action space and called Utah Media Group and Melissa answered. I told Melissa I got another paper and was concerned that they had stopped my subscription and I was not going to pay anything for it.. Then Melissa informed me that I had already paid for the papers and that the papers would continue until 15 May. My subscriptions for the month and since I subscribe to the middle of the month that went to the end of the month. You I would not be charged since I only paid for the subscription. I hung up the phone. She asked if what I wanted was to stop the papers from coming and that is what I wanted but at the same time I thought “what the hell I paid for it might forget them, I can always given the people here at the facility”. I'm so down I knew better than to make eye contact.