In truth, I don’t even know where to begin. I will refrain from using names, if you do not already know people involved, then there’s no reason for you to become involved now. I suppose first you should know that everything being said about me is a lie. Second you should know that because I don’t document everything I do online with screen captures (who does?), this will likely end up a he said/she said. Believe me, don’t believe me. I know the truth, and this is it.

You think that there is one issue at hand, and that it is what has caused this whole mess, but that’s not true. That’s the first thing that’s a lie. It is being claimed that I started calling someone a stalker after he commented on a Facebook event, that I planned to attend, taking place in New Jersey, when he lives somewhere in Texas. As far as I am concerned, he had no business commenting on the event. When I saw that he had, I found further reason to be concerned. Further because there had already been a number of things that were cause for my concern. For me, this action was a kind of breaking point. I knew that something was not right. His claim is that he was invited to the event accidentally by someone. This has recently changed to a claim that I invited him mistakenly. I assure you that I made no such mistake. I’ve not been to the monthly events in question in some time and have never invited anyone to the events, ever. The only proof, that I’ve seen, is a screen capture of his “Past Events” on Facebook. That screen capture does not prove that he was invited, nor does it prove that any specific person invited him.

I understand that a lot of you take issue with my use of such a harsh word in such an accusatory manner. I assure you I do not take it lightly.

Before that particular incident on Facebook, there were several things that occurred that made me weary. More than once, I was sent a direct message on twitter from this man asking me to unfollow people on Twitter. I was perplexed when asked to do that and did want to know why I’d be asked to do such a thing. Both times he approached it as if it were a grave matter. With one of the people he asked to unfollow, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he acted with such urgency and I didn’t really know the person. With the second, however, I raised my own concerns because it was someone who I had talked to on a fairly frequent basis. I was then told some story about how the person I was following had offended him because he never followed him back and had even ignored him. I assured this guy that it had to have been unintentional. He then went and spoke to the person who had “offended” him and ended up working everything out. Doesn’t seem that peculiar at first, but as other things started to happen, I remembered these incidents from early on.

I learned early on, after recommending people to follow on Twitter, that this guy was very serious about Twitter. There are a handful of friends from college that I had recommended people follow. He was quick to follow them, but he was also quick to ask me why they had not followed him back, at times, after only one day, as if I knew the answer. I cannot claim to know their reasoning for not following him back. That was their decision to make. I also noticed that he’d consistently ask people to follow him back, if he had followed them and they had not returned the favor. I also learned, from this person, that there are ways to see who unfollows you on Twitter. He seemed pretty up to date on who was not following him and who had unfollowed him. I was curious as to how it all worked, so I did ask about it and I did try it. It took way to much work than I was willing to put in to keep up with something as silly as who unfollowed you. The point, though, is that he gave a lot of attention to these things, more than I’d consider reasonable.

Another incident, that I admit I could have addressed sooner, was in regards to my “goodnight” tweets. I love the book “Goodnight Moon”. After seeing someone tweet “goodnight” by simply saying “Goodnight moon”, I started to do so myself. I usually got a few funny responses, including one from this guy that said something along the lines of “That’s no moon, that’s a ____.” A great Star Wars reference…the first few times. It got to the point that he was tweeting that every time I said “goodnight moon”. I should have asked him to stop, I should have told him that it was too much, but I didn’t. I cannot fully explain why, but to some degree I was uncomfortable expressing that to him. I was afraid he’d get mad at me (unreasonably so). Instead I let it continue, thinking that he’d have the good sense to tone it down. Instead, there were times where I’d gone to sleep really late and tweeted “Goodnight moon” only to wake up to a tweet from him sent hours later, in the early morning, saying “That’s no moon…”. It got to the point where he said it one night and I snapped at him saying something along the lines of “that was funny the first hundred times.” He quickly sent me a direct message apologized to me and told me that I should have spoken up sooner. Here, he was right. I should have spoken up sooner. Again, though, I was growing uncomfortable with him and the idea didn’t sit right with me.

I know that Twitter and Facebook are for interacting with people. I get that, it is social media. However, there are still limits within the parameters of social media, same as there are limits with in-person social interactions.

At some point, it became quite overwhelming for me when I noticed that I was receiving a lot of tweets from him that included my name but had nothing to with me. It appeared like he was adding me to conversations just for the heck of it. This behavior transferred over to Facebook; where there were a lot comments being made on many of my posts in a row. It was not looking good and I grew concerned. I know that he recently made the argument that I reacted in a positive manner to his comments on Facebook, but I felt I was left with no choice. What else was I going to do? I had talked to a couple friends who had recommended that I slowly back away and slowly stop responding and quietly unfollow on Twitter and de-friend on Facebook. Until then, though, they encouraged me to not get upset and to respond nicely, so as not to cause him reason for concern. I followed their advice, but I knew things would not end well. Seeing how closely, first hand, he tracked things, I knew that he’d notice if I removed him from Twitter and Facebook. There was no doubt that he had obsessive and stalker-like tendencies.

In the process of slowing down my interactions, but trying to remain somewhat friendly, I received a direct message on Twitter that read “Do you even see my tweets anymore? It’s like you have me on mute. #cranky(his name)”. I didn’t know what “mute” meant and I honestly didn’t know how to respond. I did my best to assure him that it was not intentional. I wasn’t ready for the onslaught of whatever this has become. In that conversation he mentioned that he had tweeted me about 30+ times in 3 days and that I had only mentioned him twice. To me, that meant that he had kept track and counted both his tweets to me and my responses. This is the only conversation I could find record of, I am still uncertain if there are more screen captures. Like I said, I don’t really keep a catalog of my online social life.

After that, I knew it was becoming too much for me. I knew it was time to stop it by breaking the social network connection. I made it a point to tweet a lot about the possibility of removing Facebook completely and noted it on Facebook as well. I removed a good number of Facebook friends, people that I didn’t really talk to anymore, in case he looked to see if I was actually removing people or not. I became paranoid.

Within a few hours of removing him from Facebook, I got a direct message from him on Twitter. I don’t recall if he asked if I accidentally removed him or if he told me that I accidentally removed him, but he informed me and told me he’d sent me a friend request. I do not remember if I responded to him or not. Not long after that, I removed him from G+ and Twitter. I didn’t only remove him, I blocked him. I didn’t want to see what was going to follow. I was honestly afraid.

I wanted to not care. I wanted to let it all pass. Instead, I grew frustrated. He had overstepped his boundaries, made me uncomfortable, and even slightly paranoid. And for the most part things moved on unnoticed. Every once in a while I’d get mentioned in a tweet with him and it made me uncomfortable. I’ll admit, a couple times I informed people of what happened in hopes that I’d not be mentioned with him again. I never went into such detail. It felt like so much of what happened was private.

I don’t think I noticed to what degree it was making me angry. It didn’t help that a couple people I had told about the fiasco were quick to come to his defense. I think I spoke with about a dozen people regarding the matter. And I tried to keep his name out of it, at first, in hopes the situation would be judged for what it was. I didn’t want to let the anger and frustration get the best of me. I know that I failed at that. If you want to take issue with me, take issue that I lost sight of who I was and started to and continued to make comments regarding this man in public. I did not use his name, and that doesn’t make it right, but it does not make my comments untrue. It simply makes them unnecessary.

I had tried to avoid this, not talk it up incessantly, because I was afraid of this happening. I knew some people would jump to conclusions. I knew that others would side with him, no matter what I had to say. He was the one that first used my name in public, calling me vile, a liar, and whatever else. I had only become aware that he was still keeping tabs on me when someone approached me on Twitter regarding the matter. What followed was me learning of his rants on Facebook. This is what happened last night and what followed was quite disgusting.

I was beside myself to learn that he was lying about me so openly. I was also quite surprised that people would be so quick to judge me, without even considering that there was more to what he was saying. It got to the point where I definitely felt I was being attacked. I tried to defend myself, without going into details. It did me no good. Before I knew it, it was 4am, 5am, and 6am. I had to be up for work early this morning and I was in need of sleep. I knew that I was so tired from the emotional melee that I couldn’t even properly defend myself, so I gave up and went to sleep. When I woke a couple hours later I had a few tweets awaiting me. I had expected such, but I hadn’t expected the animosity. Again, I was asked to defend myself on the spot. I knew that all I had to say would never be able to be said on Twitter, or Facebook for that matter. There was far too much information and it would have been severely unfair, to those unaware and those uninterested, to use Twitter as a medium for this explanation.

I tried to explain that I needed to depart for work, but met with a skeptic who highly doubted me. The skeptic claimed that the number of tweets I had meant that I was lying, that I had to be able to tweet during the day. I merely responded that for several months of the past year, I had been unemployed and that I recently started a temp job where my access to the internet is limited. I invited the skeptic to search my timeline for tweets implying such; I don’t know if he did.

I’m certain that this will be met with many who still do not believe. I also expect claims to the contrary. In the end though, I did what you asked. You wanted to know the truth, here it is. What you do with it, that’s up to you

As I stood in disbelief thoughts raced through my mind. Should I get in my car and chase them down? Do we call the cops? What if something happens to her? It’s all my fault! I took a moment and a deep breath, hoping to calm myself down. I looked at my co-workers and our customer and asked what we should do.

There were no options. We called the police and let them know what happened. They told us they’d be on the lookout for the vehicle and the people. Unfortunately, that was the best they…and we, could do.

I watched the news, looking, listening for any sign of a woman disappearing or worse. I was relieved every time there was nothing.

About a week later it was Halloween. It was Friday and I had an early shift at Starbucks. Since we were given the option, I dressed up as Cleopatra. It was certainly fun seeing peoples faces as they pulled up to the drive thru. I was certain most of them hadn’t even remembered it was Halloween. I worked until noon and then headed to my grandmother’s house for lunch.

After lunch with grandma I headed back to Starbucks to retrieve the paycheck I had forgotten. When I walked up to the counter I was greeted by Jackie. Before I could ask for my check Jackie asked if was there when the cops showed up. I looked at her, very confused, and responded no. She didn’t immediately offer up information, so I asked her why. She directed me to the back room and told me to look at the fridge.

Incredibly confused, I headed to the back to look at the fridge. When I got there, I found this lovely paper attached with tape. It reads: Jonathan W. Wood is wanted by the Elk Grove Village Police Department for questioning. Written in hand next to his photo are the words “Call 911 RIGHT AWAY if you see him!”

This cannot be good. He killed her, that’s it. She has to be missing.

Again, the thoughts ran through my head. I was certain that the picky customer who gave him a ride the week prior was, in fact, in a ditch somewhere.

I snapped the photo of the paper and headed back out to the front. I found Jackie and asked her if she knew why they were looking for him. She said that he was wanted for questioning in a murder. She said that the cops didn’t really say much more than that, but shared that much so that we knew there was a possible danger. I thanked her for the info, got my check and headed home.

I didn’t know what to make of the situation. I talked to a friend that day and told her everything. She assured me that stressing about it wouldn’t be wise and that we didn’t even know the details. I did my best to calm myself down and enjoy my evening. And she was right, we didn’t know the details.

The store was all abuzz when I walked into work the next morning. A series of “Did you hear what happened?” greeted me as I walked into the back room. I don’t remember who filled me in, it may have been a number of people. But, somehow, we’d received more information about the man with his photo on our fridge.

It turns out, he WAS wanted for questioning in regards to a murder. A couple days prior, a woman failed to show up to work. When her co-workers received a scribbled fax, supposedly from the woman, saying that she was going to be out of town for a few days to visit her sick sister, they suspected something was wrong. The co-workers notified the police and asked them to check on her. The woman was found in a closet in her house. There was a bag covering her head. She was dead, and if I remember correctly, beaten.

Her car was missing, the details about her car were on the sheet from the fridge. The police suspected the man with the laptop. They thought he had her car. And they were right. They learned this when he showed up in the neighborhood, in her car. When he saw the cops at the house, he took off. A chase was had, he was caught.

While he still hasn’t admitted to anything, almost three years later, the story is there. After killing the woman in the closet, he grabbed some paper and wrote a note. He got the fax number to her place of employment and stopped at a random business to use their fax machine. Eventually,after sending the fax, he returned to the house, where the police spotted him and chased him down. She had a restraining order against him. How bad can it be when a mother has to get a restraining order against her own son? Yes, the woman in the closet was his mother.

Every so often I do a search to see if any more news has come of this horrendous tale. Not much is out there. He’s in jail, awaiting trial. last I checked, he had finally agreed to being evaluated by a psychiatrist.

And the woman in the red Jeep? She came in to our Starbucks a couple weeks later. When I saw her I filled her in on what had happened. She was shocked, to say the least. She told me he had asked her if she knew of a Catholic church nearby. She said that she pointed up the street to tell him where there was one. He asked for a ride to the church and that she agreed. She said that she agreed, but on the condition that his belongings went in the trunk, his pockets were emptied, and his hands were on the dashboard the entire time. When she finished sharing her story, she left, not as shaken as she should have been.

And that, is my story about a murderer.

I was wrong. As the man with the laptop picked up his drink, he interrupted our conversation to say hello. Politely, I greeted him in return and went back to eating my dinner. This, however, didn’t stop him from continuing to talk to me. He started with the small questions….what’s your name? Do you work here? Is that spaghetti? And as I answered moved closer and started asking more disconcerting questions: Where do you live? Do you live by yourself? Who made that spaghetti for you, your mom? Where did you go to high school? What were your activities in high school?

I kept looking over at Joe and Colleen, but they were busy with a line at the drive thru. Unsure of a better way to close off the conversation I muttered something about my break ending and hopped off the bar stool. I quickly headed to the backroom and took a seat at the desk, where I finished my meal in peace. I then took a few moments to grab my iPhone and say something on facebook about the unusual encounter. I had dreaded my break time ending, knowing the man with the laptop was still going to be there.

Colleen assigned me to the espresso bar after I clocked back in. I was relieved to be on the bar because I knew it was much easier to feign busyness on the bar than at the drive thru.

The customers grew to be fewer and fewer as the night drew on, but that didn’t stop the man with the laptop. He approached almost every customer that came in, tried to chat them up. While I could not hear what he was saying, I could see the body language of the people he was talking to. It was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I knew there was nothing we could do.

About 30 minutes before we closed the man with the laptop packed up his belongings. But he didn’t leave. Instead, he started a conversation with a customer and followed him outside to chat. They stood there talking for several minutes, during which another customer entered the store.

I took the woman’s order and started to make her drink…a Venti Mocha Frappuccino. I made her drink the same way I had made hundreds of drinks, exactly according to recipe.

I handed the woman her beverage and was about to warn her about the man with the laptop who was now outside. However, before I could tell her about the creepy man, she started yelling at me. She was exclaiming that the drink was terrible and demanded that I remake it. I asked her what the problem was and she merely stated that it tasted wrong. I asked her if anyone in our store made it different for her, and she said no. So with no reason to remake her drink, I remade it, to appease her. I made the drink the EXACT same way I had made it the first time. When it was ready, I handed the drink over for approval and she told me that it was “much better”.

Much better? It was the same thing that I had just made, that she had wasted. I was so incredibly frustrated with her that I purposefully neglected to tell her about the man with the laptop standing outside, closing up the conversation with the man. The woman made some remark that was probably meant to be a compliment and headed out the door.

I watched as she went outside, hoping that she’d bypass the man with the laptop. But by the time she made it out the front door the man with the laptop had been left by himself. He greeted her as exited the building and started talking to her. He said something and she pointed at the road, as if giving directions. She nodded her head then started walking to her car. Their conversation was brief. He came back inside, where he’d left him bag and quickly grabbed it and walked back outside.

As the man with the laptop exited the building, our favorite regular, Tony, walked in. Before I could greet him, I saw the man with the laptop walk over to and get in the car belonging to the woman. Tony must have seen the look on my face, because he turned to look outside too. I mumbled something about stopping the car and before I could move, Tony ran outside to try to stop them, but they were off before he could even get the license plate number.

Immediately I felt regret for not warning the woman. Immediately I felt responsible. For what…..I didn’t know. But there was an unsettling feeling inside of me, worried for that woman who was now driving the man with the laptop.

To be continued….

Whew! Much better. Moving on….

If you’ve ever worked retail you know what I mean when I say we’ve all had THAT customer. The one that’s a little bit creepy. The one that talks a little too much. The one that stares. The one that makes you wish you had pepper spray in your hand, ready to go. THAT one.

A few years ago, August, 2008, to be exact, I moved to Chicago. I was talking classes at The Art Institute of Illinois and working at Starbucks. I loved working at Starbucks. The coffee was free, the coworkers were nice, and the customer made me smile. Most of them anyway.

The Saturday before Halloween I was working a closing shift with Colleen, a shift leader, and Joe, a high schooler. (Yes, Joe being a high schooler is pertinent.) When I arrived at work at 2pm there were a few other people working. It was fairly busy for a while, so I took little notice of the customer sitting at a table, laptop open, cellphone in hand.

This is the view I had sitting at the Starbucks bar.

When I took my first break, at about 4pm, I sat at the bar near the espresso machines, where I usually sit. When the customer with the laptop went to the counter to order his beverage, I noticed that he looked familiar. I couldn’t figure out how. When he walked towards me, to pick up his drink, I realized why he looked familiar. The customer with the laptop was a dead ringer for chef Mario Batali.  More than that, though, I noticed his odd behavior.

As he picked up his drink he began to talk to a couple of young girls. At first, it seemed like he was making polite conversation “Isn’t it a nice day?” But the more I listened, the more alarmed I became as seemingly innocent questions became more personal and intrusive. I focused on the newspaper in front of me as the girls would walk away without incident. Not long after the man went back to his laptop, I got up and went back to work.

I mentioned the exchange to my co-workers who informed me that the man with the laptop had been there since mid morning and had yelled at one of the cashiers because she had to get a manager to get change of a hundred-dollar bill. This new information left me feeling even more uncomfortable about the man with the laptop. But I pressed on, shifting my focus away from the creepy man with the laptop and to the work that had to be done.

Before I knew it, a few hours had passed. Everyone but Joe, Colleen and I had left and it was time for me to take my 30 minute break. After clocking out I walked to the backroom, heated up my dinner, and headed back to my favorite seat at the espresso bar. It was about 8pm and the man with the laptop was still in our store. I’d barely begun to eat when he got up and ordered another beverage. I made it a point to not look over at the man with the laptop and started talking to Joe, the barista in front of me, hoping that keeping them engaged in conversation would keep him from talking to me, the only other person in the Starbucks.

To be continued…..

My first retail job was when I was 16 and just old enough to work. I worked at one of the local grocery store chains. The work itself wasn’t tremendously difficult, but what retail job is? Working with the public, however, can be very tedious. I remember times where I’d get yelled at by a customer because the price on a product was wrong or their coupons were expired. And interactions with customers were not the only place to find difficulty with the public. I can’t tell you how many times I would walk up and down the aisles of the grocery store putting items back and come across ice cream, meat and other refrigerated products sitting on the shelf. Most of the time, the refrigerated items needed to be thrown away. Not only is that wasteful, it’s money that the store is losing because a customer couldn’t be bothered to walk back and put it away or give it to the cashier.

I suppose what I’m most bothered by is the notion that customers carry that they’re always right. A notion that has expanded to the inability of employees to say anything to customers that could possibly be offensive. If I had ever witnessed a customer leave meat on the shelf in the baking aisle, I never would have been able, as an employee, to say “That doesn’t belong there, please return it to the meat case or give it to a cashier.” A comment like that would have most likely cost me my job.

Instead, employees are now trained to say things like “Can I help you find anything?” or “I love using ground turkey in my tacos, it’s a healthy and tasty option!” Perhaps companies think they can guilt customers into behaving, and to some degree, I’m sure it works. But the truth is, there will ALWAYS be customers who leave refrigerated items in the baking aisle.

If you’ve never seen ABC’s “What Would You Do?” you’re missing out on some good reality programming. The show creates ethical dilemmas and uses hidden cameras to see how the public reacts. There have been episodes that touch on everything from racism to theft to abortion. So many times people are seen standing up for others, but sadly, there are people caught on camera who chose the questionable side of the dilemma or flat-out ignore it.

While I didn’t see the episode, I do remember seeing a preview for a scenario in a grocery store where a man was opening containers of strawberries, eating a few and then closing them and leaving them there.

Certainly if you saw that you’d be shocked…but would you speak up? Would you say something?

The misbehavior of the general public is and should be something of concern. We see when people do wrong, but we’ve grown afraid to say anything for fear of offending. Perhaps it’s time to reclaim society and stand up for what’s right.

When I saw that woman at Kmart walk away from the display, I stopped dead in my tracks. It only took a second to decide my course of action. I turned around, walked over to her and said “Are you going to tell him to clean that up or are you going to leave that mess there?” The look of shock on her face was priceless. She then pretended to not know what I was talking about. So I informed her that I saw what the child had done, and repeated my question. As she stared at me in shock I walked away towards the pharmacy.

I was mid conversation with the Pharmacist when she walked up to me and interrupted me. “Excuse me, do you own this store?” I could see this was going to be a pleasant exchange. I answered her question:”no”. “Then what do you care, mind your own business.”

I then went on to tell her that leaving the mess for someone else to clean up was extremely inconsiderate. Her child had made the mess, in front of her, and it was her responsibility to do something about it. She retorted with “he’s just a boy”, as if that statement excused him from any responsibility. That’s when I repeated that it was her responsibility to either ask him to clean it up or clean it up for him. She called me a couple of different things, including inconsiderate, as she walked away but I stood my ground.

I saw at least one person looking on at our exchange, and to be frank, I didn’t care.

Walking away she remarked that I’d understand when I had children of my own. I then responded “Yes, and I will make them clean up after themselves, like any good parent should do.” And with that she walked away and said nothing further.

I finally turned back to my Pharmacist and apologized, explaining what I had witnessed and adding that it’s not fair to employees who work here when irresponsible parents let their children destroy the store. He smiled at me and said that he agreed.

So the next time you see a customer yell at an employee, leave meat in the baking aisle or allow their child(ren) to destroy a store….speak up.

It’s time we start holding each other to higher standards.

I remember the words my mother told me when I was young: “Rachel, the reason bullies pick on others is to makes themselves feel better.” She was right, that’s exactly why bullies pick on others.

I was in third grade when she shared these words of wisdom with me. And I was in third grade when I shared those words of wisdom with my bullies. Somehow I thought that making the bullies think about their actions would stop them from picking on me; I was wrong.

At barely five feet tall today, one can imagine how small I was as an 8-year old. We had just moved from Texas to Chicago and I knew nobody. I was a perfect target. Small, new, no allies…what more could a bully ask for?

The latest bullying story to make headlines deals with two 14-year old girls, Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz, from Minnesota who made and followed through on suicide pact after being tormented at school. Before that, we saw the frustration of 16-year old Casey Heynes from Australia who body slammed a smaller boy who had been bullying and hitting him.

The extreme cases are the ones that get media attention, but each extreme case didn’t escalate to such overnight. One instance involves a 13-year old girl who was being bullied at school and on the bus for two years without any kind of intervention. The parents of the girl had pleaded with the school to transfer her, but their pleas went unanswered.  This eventually led to a fight on the school bus near the girl’s house that had to be broken up by her parents. She is now being homeschooled.

At the rate things are going, it’s a miracle more of these cases don’t end up sprawled across the evening news leaving towns in shock and viewers in tears.

So where does the blame lie? Who are we to hold accountable? Parents who neglect their children’s cries? Teachers who turn a blind eye? Administrators who brush concerns away?

It is clear that schools and their staff need to be held accountable and many states are working to enhance their anti-bullying legislation to provide for such accountability.

The state of New Jersey passed legislation in November that calls for more action from school officials and teachers. The bill, which calls for immediate reporting of incidents and prompt investigations, comes after the suicide of a Rutgers University student.  Tyler Clementi jumped from the George Washington bridge after sexually explicit video emerged of him and another male student (Clementi’s roommate was responsible for setting up the webcam and broadcasting the video. He is currently awaiting trial).

Accountability of school staff may certainly help the bullied. With teachers and administration facing the consequences of inaction, there’s hope that situations will be dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner. Yet I can’t help but feel that there’s more to the issue at hand than that. As a person who was constantly bullied, even into college, I know that the best way to combat a bully is to stand up for yourself. This doesn’t mean I promote physical violence, but taking a stand I do. For one to take a stand against a bully, one has to believe in themselves. The longer a bully has their grasp on you, the easier it is for them to exert power over you.

Perhaps beyond setting up measures to keep bullies at bay, parents and schools should focus on the heart of the matter; building self-esteem and encouraging students’ self-worth. I, for one, can testify to the ease with which bully’s words are believed. It is far easier to believe that you are stupid, fat and ugly, than it is to believe that you are smart and beautiful. With encouragement from the home and school, students could find the strength they need to stand up for themselves and stand up to bullies.

While there will always be incessant bullies looking to fight, to devastate, the truth is that so many situations can be diffused if we just give students the means.

The beginning of April 2011, marked a huge turning point for video rental giant Blockbuster. The company was auctioned off to Dish Network after Blockbuster creditors were unable to agree on restructuring plans stemming from their September 2010, bankruptcy.   While not much has changed within the stores and services, the May 2, 2011, announcement of newly appointed Blockbuster president, Michael Kelly, serves as the start of a new era for both companies.

Michael Kelly previously served Dish Network as the Executive Vice President of their Commercial Services division as well as their media and direct sales group.  The leadership and sales experience has served Kelly well at Dish, but how exactly will that play into the new Blockbuster?

The new face of Kelly at Blockbuster brings hope that fresh ideas will be thought, implemented and successful. But what exactly are those ideas going to be? It is clear that changes need to take place at Blockbuster if Dish Network plans to keep another bankruptcy from happening. Below are five things that could help Dish Network rehabilitate Blockbuster back to it’s full potential.

1. Streaming Video

The introduction of streaming video in the movie rental industry is an introduction that changed the industry. With the digital age upon us, we have become accustomed to “must have now” mentality.  Customers often look to the ease and appeal of streaming video versus the, sometimes, challenge of packing up the car and heading to the video store. It is easy to see that Netflix has such a stronghold on it’s customers because no one else comes close to offering streaming as they do. All three major video game consoles(Wii, Xbox, PS3) have the ability to stream Netflix. So why is Blockbuster so behind on the times? The technology is here and has been for some time now. It is high time that Blockbuster throws their hat into the ring and gives Netflix a real challenge. Without streaming video, Blockbuster is going to struggle to stay afloat just as greatly as before.

2. Lower Prices

Everyone is trying to save money these days. For some, that means renting a couple movies for 10 bucks as opposed to heading to the theaters to see one movie at 10 bucks a person. Though Blockbuster has recently changed their pricing and rental policy, it may not be enough to keep customers from seeking other means of entertainment. Perhaps revisiting a past promotion for “Family” and “Kids” movies is in order. In the past, Blockbuster has offered “Family” and “Kids” movies for 99¢. With a price like that, parents were able to get a movie for themselves while stocking up on family favorites for the weekend, all without breaking the bank. Currently, a movie in the “Family” or “Kids” section can cost the same as “The Social Network” which just released to DVD in January 2011.

3. Revamp Blockbuster Online

Did you know that Blockbuster Online offers Blu-ray and video game rentals at no extra charge? The perks of Blockbuster Online are far greater than the perks of Netflix, but nobody seems to be aware. As is, the Blockbuster website doesn’t even make it easy to find and sign up for their online services. It’s no wonder customers don’t know they can cut the wait time in half for the next movie in their queue by returning their online rental at the nearest Blockbuster. Heck, customers probably don’t know that they can exchange their online movies for in-store rentals up to five times per month. Meanwhile, with Netflix, you have to wait. However, when comparing the pricing of Netflix to Blockbuster, not knowing these things can certainly make Netflix seem the way to go. Add into account streaming movies, and Netflix wins every time. Wake up Blockbuster!

4. Update Stores

Aesthetics matter. Sure, updating every single Blockbuster out there may not be financially feasible right now, but something’s gotta give. There’s nothing like walking into a store that looks clean and updated. When customers walk into Blockbuster, it’s no different. General housekeeping can only help so much when enamel is peeling from the counters, cabinet doors are hanging off their hinges and registers look like they’ve been taking a beating since day one. As the last great brick and mortar video rental store, take some pride and invest in a mini-makeover.

5. Better Marketing

Yes, Blockbuster had some very crafty commercials for their “28 Day” campaign. Other than that, though, what else have they been doing? Why is it that almost every website has an ad or pop-up for Netflix? For a company that has been in the business for so long, how are they so behind the times? Having barely put up a defense against Netflix, Blockbuster needs to change up their plan and go on the offense. Take out ads on Facebook, bolster pop-ups, take a stand in marketing and inform the customers that you’re here to stay.

Ultimately, Blockbuster needs to recognize that what they’ve been doing hasn’t been working out for them. Blockbuster is a well established business that hasn’t experienced substantial change since August 2004, when they introduced Blockbuster Online. It’s time for change, and Michael Kelly is going to be just the man to initiate it. No matter the form, how well received change in the company is may make or break them, for good.

Spring and summer storms in Illinois are often accompanied by the threat of severe weather like hail and tornadoes. In addition to warnings issued on the radio and television, we had tornado sirens. The sirens would sound and we’d check the TV after heading down to the basement. For all the sirens I heard, I am happy to say that I never once saw a tornado. Nevertheless, the sound of the tornado siren was something ingrained in my head.

We moved to New Jersey in April, 1998. From schools to landscape, the move was a bit of a culture shock. I went from a high school of almost 3,000 students and a marching band of 400+ to a high school with fewer than 1,000 students and barely 50 marching band members; from the flat Land of Lincoln to the foothills of the Appalachians. And don’t even get me started on the Jersey attitude(which I may or may not have picked up on).

Within the first few weeks of us living here I picked up on a lot. I met new people, started to learn the area, and began to adjust. My mother, sister and myself ended up staying with my aunt in her one bedroom apartment while we searched for a house. With my mom and aunt working and my sister in middle school I was often the first one home. And on certain days, extra-curricular activities kept either myself or my sister at school late.

I remember arriving home one particular afternoon during a storm. My sister was going to be late so I was all by myself. As I started to settle in I noticed the sky darkening. Realizing that it was much darker than I felt comfortable with, I turned the on television to The Weather Channel. It took no time for me to see the red and yellow spots headed towards me.

I tried my best to not panic, but the frequency of lightning and the close proximity of the thunder started to get the best of me.

Just when it seemed like things were starting to calm down I heard a siren….not just ANY siren…a TORNADO siren. I was 15 years old and alone in a ground floor one bedroom apartment. I looked around trying scout a place to take cover. I knew to stay away from outer-walls and windows; which left me with one option…the closet under the stairs.

I grabbed the phone and headed into the closet. I stayed in there, probably praying, for almost 10 minutes. When the rain and thunder had left I figured it was safe to emerge. I checked the TV again and saw that the storms had moved past us.

Later, when my family returned home I told them about the storms and the sirens. Before I could tell them that I hid in the closet, my aunt interjected. She told me that New Jersey doesn’t really get tornadoes and that the sirens are for the volunteer fire department.

They must not have noticed me blush, because the conversation ended there. It was a few years before I told them about my brush with the sirens, something I will never live down.

I am truly grateful that there were no tornadoes that day. Today, however, there were over 100 tornadoes reported. With damage still fresh at the STL Airport, storms sprawled across the US, from Oklahoma to Maine. The damage in some areas has been labeled as catastrophic, and lives have been lost. The Red Cross has started a fund to aid in the recovery efforts. Please, if you are able, take a moment, and consider a donation.

My prayers are with all who have lost. Requiescat In Pace.

Part V

The accuser did not HAVE to take the stand, but chose to. The judge motioned for the accuser to be sworn in and so began his testimony. He told of the events in a very exaggerated way. At one point he said that I had sat at a traffic light for thirty minutes. As he continued to talk I saw that not only his story, but his temper was unraveling. It was as if talking about the incident was causing him to get angry all over again.

He kept repeating that he was following me, stating that I was harassing him. He told the judge that he needed to follow me to take a picture of my vehicle. He claimed that there was no accident and that he didn’t even know that there was damage to his vehicle until the trooper pointed it out to him. He mentioned that he had just dropped his kids off at school and was headed home to feed his youngest child, who was in the car with him.

I was quite surprised that my jaw was not open in disbelief when he stated that he had a child in the car with him.

He had three photos with him that he wanted to use as evidence. The judge allowed it, though it appeared a measure to appease the frustrated man.

The first two photos were of my vehicle and were taken on the highway from behind me. All those two photos proved were that I was on the highway. There was no way to know the exact time or day that the photos were taken. The third photo was of the damage to his vehicle. Somehow, in his mind, it made sense to tell the court that he wasn’t even sure the damage came from my vehicle.

When the accuser had finished his rant the opportunity for questioning came into play. Both the prosecutor and my lawyer were able to question him.

When asked why he had followed me, he stated again that I had been harassing him because I didn’t turn when the light was red, even though I had my turn signal on.

When asked why he didn’t call the police, if I was harassing him, he stated that he couldn’t reach his cell phone that was in his pocket.

When asked why he followed me onto the highway, and out of his way, instead of heading home, he replied that he wanted to take a photo of my vehicle….because I was harassing him.

When asked what he used to take the photo, he remarked that he used his iPhone.

When asked why he didn’t then call the police, he gave no reason.

To remind you, he had originally issued two citations against me. One was for criminal mischief and causing damage to his vehicle in excess of $500.00. The other was for falsifying a police report. The first was reduced to a disorderly persons charge and the latter was dismissed altogether before the case was remanded from the superior court to the municipal court.

When asked if he knew for certain that the damage came from my vehicle, he said that he did not know if the damage was there before or not.

When asked why he issued a felony charge against me for causing damage to his vehicle when he wasn’t even certain that I caused the damage, he again drew a blank.

With that last question still echoing in my mind, the judge asked if any party had any closing remarks. Understanding the hint to move on, the reply was no from all.

What was probably 30 seconds seemed like minutes for me as I studied the judge’s face as he looked over the paperwork, no doubt mentally preparing his remarks.

He looked up at us and spoke.  He said that after listening to each side, taking into account all the evidence, and watching us and our body language and reactions, he did not think that the accuser was a credible witness. He said that he did not believe the story from the accuser that he “didn’t know” our vehicles had collided. He said that there was no way the force of an impact would not have been felt. He pointed out that if the accuser truly was the one being harassed, he would have taken steps to get away from me and not followed me. He also said that the fact that the accuser waited almost 30 days to file the charges was further proof against him.

He then declared me not guilty and the accuser guilty of the charges the state brought against him.  He ordered the accuser to pay a hefty amount of fines and fees and handed down a six-month license suspension sentence to him.

The accuser then asked about making an appeal. The judge informed him that he had a right to appeal and that in order to appeal all fines and fees need to first be paid and that the front desk clerk had the paperwork to get him started on the appeal process.

I cannot express the relief I felt. Almost a year of waiting, wondering, and worrying; I was free of all charges!

As I prepared to leave the table I thanked the judge, prosecutor, and trooper. I then turned to my lawyer and asked “what now?”  My lawyer informed me, first, that he was mostly certain that the accuser wouldn’t file the appeal in time or properly. And that if he did file it properly and in a timely manner, it’d surely be denied.

He assured me that double jeopardy was attached and nothing could be done to change the verdict, something I already knew, but was delighted to hear aloud.

With an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice and about ten classes shy of a B.S. in Legal Studies, I am fully aware of the options that await me.

But that is where this turns into a private matter.

I am truly grateful for the heartfelt support and prayers offered for the situation.

And I certainly hope that this is the last part of what once seemed like a never-ending saga.

Case closed.