This too is Yonkers–by Eric Schoen
What a week! As we go to press it’s day 26 of the Government shutdown. 800,000 people out of work. Many of those called back to work with no pay. And many government employees have continued to work despite the fact that they didn’t get their last paycheck. And yes, the President and members of the Senate and Congress received their paychecks.
What’s wrong with this picture? What would you do if because of a stalemate caused by border funding you didn’t get your paycheck? Set cans of tomatoes in the basement on fire as the clerks who worked for Horace Vandergelder’s store in Hello Dolly did in a dispute with their boss? We will get to the death of Carol Channing shortly.
It’s a sad state of affairs when grown, intelligent adults can’t sit in a room and come to an agreement to solve a problem everyone agrees exists. And it’s even sadder when the President of the United States invites guests to the White House and serves them Big Macs and Whoppers. Trump joked about Melania and Ivanka making salads for the guests. For the prestige of this country and out of respect to the historic institution they were in maybe they should have! Or call a caterer.
Sadly, at this point it’s going to take one of the nationwide unions like air traffic controllers or Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) workers to walk off the job and shut down an industry like aviation and this government shut down will promptly end. Pathetic! But the $15 an hour TSA agents need to show the $140,000 Congresspersons that you can’t play with the workers nor the public’s lives.
Friends, last week was one of those weeks that reminds you that as great as computers are, they still make mistakes. Yes garbage in, garbage out is true. But sometimes computers have a mind of their own.
I received one of those emails from CVS telling me that my deal of the week was 40% off 1 non-sale item. I selected an item that was $20. I went to the cashier with that item and another item I had a free coupon for.
The cashier rang up both items together. I got the free item at no charge and the $20 item was discounted $5. Now whether you live in Wyoming or you live in Yonkers, 40% off a $20 item is $8 off. I explained this to the cashier. She then tried wringing up each item separately. Under that scenario I got the $8 off the $20 item plus an extra $2 off. I benefitted from the $8 and $2 off the $20.00 item, so I completed the transaction and left.
I went to the doctor October 25. I pay my copays at the time of visit. I get a bill for my $20 copay with a date of service of October 26. I would never go to the doctor 2 days in a row. I would never pay my copay the day after service. They think that the copay for the October 25 visit might have been booked on the 26th. They are still researching this.
I get a bill for a newspaper that after staff cuts is nothing more than sheets of paper. I never ordered it. What’s going on here.
A friend got a bill for medical services she never paid for before and was previously covered under her insurance. She calls her insurance broker who tells her ‘your deductible is now $3000 and using out of network providers can cost her more out of pocket costs.’
Moral of the story is check your bills and receipts from the cashier to be sure you are not getting overcharged or charged for services you did not receive. $8 bills or $3000 bills. And make sure you understand what you are getting charged for. And check your bank statements every month for mistakes.
Don’t just pay a bill if you receive it. If you don’t understand the bill or the charge ask a member of the family or of a local social service agency to help you out. Otherwise you will end up paying for things you should not in the crazy computerized world we live in!
Out There, There’s a World Outside of Yonkers
Hey, why hasn’t anybody ever told me that? That great line comes from ‘Put On Your Sunday Clothes’ from the musical ‘Hello Dolly.’ We lost Dolly this week, the great Carol Channing who left us at 97, two weeks shy of her 98th birthday.
For the uninitiated, Hello, Dolly! is a 1964 musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart. Based on Thornton Wilder’s 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, the musical follows the story of Dolly Gallagher Levi (a strong-willed matchmaker), as she travels to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the miserly “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. In doing so she persuades his niece, his niece’s intended, and Horace’s two clerks to travel to New York City.
Channing played the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi over 5000 times on Broadway, never missing a performance. Contrast that to performers today who get an itch and cancel their performance. She was the first entertainer to ever be featured during the Super Bowl halftime show. Before Channing, bands were featured as the means of halftime entertainment.
Whenever I travel the United States or the world and I mentioned I am from Yonkers, people always say to me, ‘Isn’t that where Dolly Levi is from?’ Or ‘Didn’t Hello Dolly take place in Yonkers?’ She starred in other musicals like ‘Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend’ and ‘Gentleman Prefer Blonds’ where she sang the famous tune:
I’m just a little girl from Little Rock,
I lived on the wrong side of the tracks,
Till a gentleman took me out one night,
And after he’d taught me wrong from right,
We moved to the right side of the tracks
We will miss Carol Channing, the Little Girl from Little Rock, well actually from Seattle, Washington. But we are forever grateful for all the beautiful memories she gave us!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM or download the SIMPLE RADIO app for free from the APP STORE.
