2013

"On the day after Christmas..."

The Captain is not happy!

I know. And so soon after Christmas!

Christmas was beautiful. The First Mate and I stayed in on Christmas Eve and had a quiet and wonderful dinner together, then exchanged presents before heading out to the 11 o’clock Candlelight Service at the Church.

The next morning, Christmas Day, the First Mate was “on call” at the hospital, and as we were eating our traditional Christmas morning waffles, she got the call. I spent the afternoon straightening up the house before my family arrived for dinner. Another nice evening.

Then it snowed. Overnight, we received 3-4 inches of heavy, wet snow. It was beautiful.

And cold!

Whatever happened to Global Warming!?!

Yes, I’m already ready for winter to be over!

I drove the First Mate to work (the Jeep’s first snow!), did “donuts” in the church parking lot (just to stay in practice), then puttered around – having given myself the day off.

So, after all that, how could I not be happy?

On December 12, I placed an internet order with Sahalie, an outdoor apparel company. According to the web site, “Standard shipping” assured me the order would arrive in “4-8 business days”. I received an email notification that it had shipped on December 13^th. It would be here in plenty of time for Christmas!

The package had not arrived by December 20^th, so I checked the tracking link. Sahalie had shipped my order using “FedEx Post” – which means that FedEx delivers the package to the local USPS for delivery. On December 16^th, the tracking info said the order was “in transit” to the post office.

On December 24^th, I called Sahalie. The operator was apparently not having a merry Christmas – and I didn’t make her day any better. She also checked the tracking information, then told me I would have to contact the post office to find out where the package is.

Of course, on December 24^th, no one at the local post office dared answer the telephone!

The Sahalie operator said there was nothing more she could do for me. When I mentioned that Sahalie had promised delivery in 8 days, her response was simply, “We did our part.”

She said she couldn’t even file a “lost package” claim for 30 days!

I assured her I would not be making this same mistake again!

So yesterday I went to the post office. As it turns out, the tracking info only indicated that the package was “in transit”. It had not yet arrived here! The postal employee suggested I contact FedEx.

Of course, no one at FedEx wanted to answer the phone on the day after Christmas! Checking its website, an announcement in large red letters indicated that due to the winter storms, FedEx would not honor guarantees on packages scheduled to be delivered on December 26^th.

Completely understandable. But my package was supposed to be delivered by December 20^th!!!

Regrettably, I had no way of telling FedEx what I thought. However, the next time I travel to Memphis, I will surely speak my mind as I drive past headquarters!

“Prepare to be boarded!”

And so I wait. Fortunately, the package in question was not a significant portion of the First Mate’s Christmas gifts.

The Captain does tend to spoil her.

On a more hopeful note, the First Mate’s birthday is at the end of the month. Maybe the order will arrive by then.

Aaaarrrggghhh!!!

Merry Christmas!

Once again spreading a little Christmas cheer!

Merry Christmas from The Captain & crew of the Banana Winds!

A Public Service Announcement

Christmas time is here...
    
...which means a lot of Christmas parties and celebrations...

...which means a lot of boozing and other stuff.

The Captain and crew of Banana Winds want to remind you...

 

 

Have a happy AND safe holiday season!