Little camel on the prairie

When we drove into Snyder yesterday, the last thing we expected to see was a camel. People had the opportunity to ride the beast that was situated on the Gallery Furniture parking lot. It was very strong, and I mean smelling. I bet the little girl's mom made her ride in the bed of the pick-up after being on that critter.

I was watching the news and they interviewed a lady who had taken her children with her to volunteer in a tornado-torn area, and I got to wondering, how do volunteers survive? I mean, how do they have the flexibility to leave at a moment's notice, how do they pay bills, how do they pay for the volunteer trip? Well, I didn't find any of that out, but I did find some interesting and informational websites about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Volunteer Louisiana, Mobile Baykeeper and the Environmental Protection Agency sites were three that kept to the facts, with a lot of details about the spill and training for volunteers. I have some friends in LA and my take is that they are having a mental struggle between enduring this adversity with the carefree nature of their culture and reeling from the horrific reality of what the aftermath will be.

I recently had a problem with WildBlue Satellite Internet double billing me on my debit card. I could entertain you with the whole story, the yelling, nasty e-mails, etc., but I prefer to be a solution person, so I will advise you on how to maintain control of your bank account when paying online. It is short and simple. My bank gives me the option of having pre-paid cards that I can immediately transfer money to from my bank account. I put only the amount of the bill in the pre-paid account, so the billing company can take no more than what I owe. If your bank doesn't offer pre-paid cards, they can be purchased at Walmart and other stores. Another solution is to use PayPal. They will give you a single-use account number to pay debts with so there will not be a direct link to your main account.

If the company you are using is just downright shystery and you can't get any satisfaction, as Mick says, you may need to report them to the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. Even if you are not compensated, sometimes information is compiled about bad business practices until there is enough evidence for action to be taken against the company. Plus you get the satisfaction of getting to do something official instead of just screaming at a clerk on the phone who cannot help you in any way and is so far down the food chain he or she hardly counts as Skittles.

By the way, WildBlue rates D+ on the BBB website. The rating system is on an A to F scale, just like in school.