Pennermag.com

or at least that’s the attitude I get from Home Depot, Staples, and Fry’s Electronics.

This is why I no longer patronize places like Best Buy. Like most Americans, I go to these stores to get stuff for my house, and my office. But these stores treat you like a thief. Ostensibly, it’s for our protection — but it’s really for theirs — and their bottom line.

My shopping experiences at these stores has been awful. At Home Depot, they want to search your shopping bag against your receipt. At Staples, they want to check your receipt even though the cash registers are right by the door. At Fry’s — you have to pick your electronics through bullet proof glass — then pay for them — then get them at some pick up booth. At Best Buy — just try to leave the store without showing your receipt.

At these same stores — getting someone to assist you in finding or choosing items is like pulling teeth. They’d rather pat you down like a criminal rather than increasing sales.

I refuse to be treated like a criminal. For this reason, I go to a post office outside my neighborhood, and definately don’t shop at the Ralphs on Venice and Rimpau.

Now, these stores are off my list. They certainly don’t have anything so unique that I can’t buy it elsewhere. No ten percent discount is worth my dignity.

So, instead, I shop at people friendly stores or on-line. It’s a relief not to be assaulted by ‘loss prevention’ folks on my way out of stores. Now, if I approach any store that appears to assault shoppers with searches on the way out of the store, I steer clear. For my sanity, it’s worth it.

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When I got married over seven years ago, I kept my last name. Why, because it s my name. I can t really see taking someone else s name. We re each born, given a name, and frankly, I think we should keep it.

Unless it s hideous, then a change may be in order, but I digress.

I ve noticed that I m much more relaxed at being called by my husband s last name.

During the first, oh I ll say, five years or so, of our marriage, if someone called on the telephone, and asked if I was Mrs. X, I would say no, inform them they had the wrong number, and hang up on them. My theory was if you didn t know my last name, I probably didn t need to speak with you on the telephone.

I was further fueled on by outrageous requests from my automobile and health insurance companies that required proof of a marriage license because our last names were different.

And for a while, a long while, it was a struggle. Adam though I should take his last name, because we were married, because it is easier to spell, because it s not a slave name, and because it would be an indicator that we were together.

I held my ground and eventually, it stopped mattering to him.

That s probably when it stopped mattering to me. In the last few months, I ve been nicer. I listen to what people want on the phone before hanging up on them. Also in social situations, with people I don t know, I do respond kindly when being introduced as Mrs. X, then I correct them gently, later.

I listen to women create all sorts of excuses to keep their names established career or administrative hassle. I say, be proud to keep your name no excuses needed.

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Probably the safest choices on earth. Am going to have to develop those pics from his money raising pit stop in Los Angeles.

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