57 Cents

Fifty seven cents is how much the check was for that I received in the mail the other day from the big class action lawsuit against Expedia.com. I'm not really sure what evil thing Expedia did to bring on the lawsuit but everyone who used them over a period of time were litigants. I had no beef with them and in fact have booked two more flights with them recently. I hope for their sake they were behaving themselves because it is obvious that attorneys are out there, circling like sharks waiting for one technical mistake and BAM there is blood in the water. Of course while us aggrieved Expedia users got 57 cents I am sure the lawyers pulled in millions for generating 57 pennies for us.

Over the years I have had numerous unknown grievances soothed by these class action suits that drop into my lap like an air drop to a besieged firebase. Occasionally I'm notified of a lawsuit that I have to admit I really had no possible harm, loss of money, or even a dirty nasty word said to me by the offending company so I opt out. GM sent me a coupon for $100 once as a result of a class action lawsuit to buy a new car with. I was excited until I realized that I got a hundred off on a new car. Too bad the car was going to cost 20 grand! Thanks for nuttin'.

Like Harry in the song 'Taxi' I stashed the check in my shirt. I'm not that proud.

A grand day out goes bad

So, last Friday was a Grand Day Out (with apologies to Wallace and Gromit) for Mrs. Grouch - until the very end. It was a day off for me and the Missus is on summer break so we scheduled a full day of good events starting with (ta-da) a new car just for her! Better than Oprah because she didn't have to be in a studio audience to get the car. We traveled to our local Ford outlet and picked out a metallic black 2010 Escape Hybrid. It is her car only and the first vehicle that she can say is her's and her's alone. It does all sorts of neat things and has all sorts of neat features but we had no time to investigate them. The vehicle went into the garage and we set off for the outlet mall in Camarillo.

Imagine our surprise and delight when we discovered not one but two outlet malls side by side! Mrs Grouch loaded up on Correllware and Bass sandals. Who could want more than that? We were joined by young daughter and along with young son all adjourned to the favorite pizza place for a hearty dinner. Then we traveled to young daughter's country digs were I loaded up on firewood and grapefruits from the grapefruit bounty tree (to eat and to shoot at). An hour later and we were home.

Later in the evening the Missus and I and the two dogs set out on our stroll. We were almost home when somehow Molly the border collie ended up under Mrs. Grouch's feet and the Missus fell to the ground. I turned around to see her sprawled on the ground, glasses bent and laying next to her on the sidewalk. Blood was streaming down her face from a deep cut above her eye. A trip to the emergency room and four hours later got the gash glued shut, a tetanus shot (that she had an allergic reaction to) and x-rays that seem to indicate a broken elbow. We were home by 3:30 a.m. The only good news is that my excellent medical coverage limited the bill to $58.14 (payable on the spot) on a total bill at that time of $580.00! She will go for more x-rays tomorrow. Poor Mrs. Grouch!