August 6, 2011
4. Newblog2011: 08/06/11 Aubochon Hardware, Barre, VT/Barre Youth Sports Association Soccer
I needed to buy a lock for my locker at work. I didn't want to have to buy it at any of the hardware stores that I'd seen so far in Barre or Montpelier as of 7:30 this morning, but I didn't have much choice.
Aubochon Hardware in Barre, VT now has a large banner on the front of the store that says:
“BARRE YOUTH SPORTS ASSOCIATION
SOCCER”
Why did the Barre youth sports association allow Aubochon Hardware to put a banner advertising for it on the front of the store, after what I'd previously written about the store's promotion of child molestation?
The store usually puts merchandise on the sidewalk in front of its store. For one thing, there were 2 children's swimming pools covered with pictures of fish and other sea life outside the store today.
I went into the store. A couple of male customers followed me around as soon as they saw me, rubbing their noses and coughing loudly.
I found a lock and went near the cash register, where there was more coughing.
I've said before that being abused all the time sometimes brings out the worst in me, and I'm sorry that for accuracy's sake, I'm going to need to report about some of what I said and did today in response to being abused.
The two male customers who had been harassing me and laughing about it were near the register. By the time that I'd told them each in turn “Goodness, what a cough you have, hope you feel better soon,” I had been in the store for a while, around all of the harassing and pedophilic displays, looking for a lock. I took my comments in response to their abuse farther than I needed to or should have done; I said “I guess maybe because you're so close to each other all the time, you can't help giving each other that cough.”
There were 2 young men behind the counter, running the 2 cash registers. There was only one customer apiece in front of me. As soon as the other customers were gone, the 2 cashiers walked away from their registers without a word and went into the back room.
I stood there for a minute. Then I went through the store until I found 2 other employees standing and talking in an aisle. I asked if one of them were the manager. The man said “I'm the assistant manager.” I told him that both cashiers had walked away from their registers as soon as they had completed their transactions with the one customer each who had been before me.
The assistant manager paused, and then said “I'm sorry about that,” and walked away, rubbing his nose as the female employee told me that she could complete my purchase at her register a few feet away.
As she was taking my money, the 2 adolescent-looking, male cashiers emerged from the back room. One of them walked near the register where the female cashier was waiting on me, and smiled at me in a cruel way.
The female cashier completed the sale, gave me my change and rubbed her nose several times, using her entire hand.
I walked a few paces toward the door. Then I turned back in the aisle, held up the money in my hand and said “You know what this is? It's money. I worked for it, and it's as good as anyone else's.”
Then I walked out of the store, saw the fish-covered, children's swimming pools for the first time, since they were behind some other merchandise on the sidewalk, and spit at them.
There were also wheelbarrows out in front of the store whose tags said "$69.99." I could read the tags from the bus stop across the street, where I went to wait for the bus and to take notes.
There was an orange, "Caution" road cone at the corner of the two streets nearest to the bus stop. It looked as if someone had built up the corner of the sidewalk with tar, so that there's a large lump at the corner of the sidewalk. I wonder if there are projects such as that one that taxpayers' money has been used to pay for, only so that the city of Barre has an excuse to put an orange "Caution" road cone or similar sign there.
4. Newblog2011: 08/06/11 Aubochon Hardware, Barre, VT/Barre Youth Sports Association Soccer
Copyright L. Kochman August 6, 2011 @ 9:55 p.m./addition @ 10:01 p.m.
4. Newblog2011: 08/06/11 Aubochon Hardware, Barre, VT/Barre Youth Sports Association Soccer
I needed to buy a lock for my locker at work. I didn't want to have to buy it at any of the hardware stores that I'd seen so far in Barre or Montpelier as of 7:30 this morning, but I didn't have much choice.
Aubochon Hardware in Barre, VT now has a large banner on the front of the store that says:
“BARRE YOUTH SPORTS ASSOCIATION
SOCCER”
Why did the Barre youth sports association allow Aubochon Hardware to put a banner advertising for it on the front of the store, after what I'd previously written about the store's promotion of child molestation?
The store usually puts merchandise on the sidewalk in front of its store. For one thing, there were 2 children's swimming pools covered with pictures of fish and other sea life outside the store today.
I went into the store. A couple of male customers followed me around as soon as they saw me, rubbing their noses and coughing loudly.
I found a lock and went near the cash register, where there was more coughing.
I've said before that being abused all the time sometimes brings out the worst in me, and I'm sorry that for accuracy's sake, I'm going to need to report about some of what I said and did today in response to being abused.
The two male customers who had been harassing me and laughing about it were near the register. By the time that I'd told them each in turn “Goodness, what a cough you have, hope you feel better soon,” I had been in the store for a while, around all of the harassing and pedophilic displays, looking for a lock. I took my comments in response to their abuse farther than I needed to or should have done; I said “I guess maybe because you're so close to each other all the time, you can't help giving each other that cough.”
There were 2 young men behind the counter, running the 2 cash registers. There was only one customer apiece in front of me. As soon as the other customers were gone, the 2 cashiers walked away from their registers without a word and went into the back room.
I stood there for a minute. Then I went through the store until I found 2 other employees standing and talking in an aisle. I asked if one of them were the manager. The man said “I'm the assistant manager.” I told him that both cashiers had walked away from their registers as soon as they had completed their transactions with the one customer each who had been before me.
The assistant manager paused, and then said “I'm sorry about that,” and walked away, rubbing his nose as the female employee told me that she could complete my purchase at her register a few feet away.
As she was taking my money, the 2 adolescent-looking, male cashiers emerged from the back room. One of them walked near the register where the female cashier was waiting on me, and smiled at me in a cruel way.
The female cashier completed the sale, gave me my change and rubbed her nose several times, using her entire hand.
I walked a few paces toward the door. Then I turned back in the aisle, held up the money in my hand and said “You know what this is? It's money. I worked for it, and it's as good as anyone else's.”
Then I walked out of the store, saw the fish-covered, children's swimming pools for the first time, since they were behind some other merchandise on the sidewalk, and spit at them.
There were also wheelbarrows out in front of the store whose tags said "$69.99." I could read the tags from the bus stop across the street, where I went to wait for the bus and to take notes.
There was an orange, "Caution" road cone at the corner of the two streets nearest to the bus stop. It looked as if someone had built up the corner of the sidewalk with tar, so that there's a large lump at the corner of the sidewalk. I wonder if there are projects such as that one that taxpayers' money has been used to pay for, only so that the city of Barre has an excuse to put an orange "Caution" road cone or similar sign there.
4. Newblog2011: 08/06/11 Aubochon Hardware, Barre, VT/Barre Youth Sports Association Soccer
Copyright L. Kochman August 6, 2011 @ 9:55 p.m./addition @ 10:01 p.m.