Slap in the Face from Fred Meyer in Albany

My Vancouver WA friend sent me a coat for Christmas. It was beautiful, but did not fit. I contacted her about this and she sent a copy of her store receipt, so I could exchange it.

I go to Fred Meyer with the coat and receipt. Wasn't good enough, because it was a copy and didn't have a bar code or something. So it was up to the store manager, I was told, if they'd take it back. She refused but they did offer, really hopefully, a gift card, worth $20 less than my friend paid for the coat.

That is unbelievable! It's stealing. I refused, told them that wasn't right. There was no sympathy or apologies from the manager.

I just talked to my friend, who is going to call the store and try to give them what they need to exchange it at the value she paid out. They said the return exchange they wanted to give was the lowest amount the coat ever sold for. WTF?

I told her I'd tried to tell them, when they asked if I had her phone number, that I only hear from her once a year and that she adopted a cat from a Lebanon collector's house from me years ago! I told her I said that because I was trying to sound legit, not like a thief, and I shouldn't have had to feel that way, because it was them trying to steal $20 from her.

Samson, by the way, a beautiful Chocolate Point Siamese male, I took out of a trailer outside Lebanon that had, in places, three foot high piles of cat shit and a crazy man who called it home, is still doing just fine, although he lives with my friends' ex now.

I still lived in Corvallis when I tackled that terrible situation, at the request of Linn County mental health. Nobody else would help. Suzanne came down to get Samson and brought me about four big bags of cat food. Every year since, she has sent me a box at Christmas, full of fun goodies. I love that family! Her daughter is currently on bed rest in the hospital, awaiting the birth of the newest member! It's a boy, just waiting to enter our world. He's trying to get out early.

Who would have thought, wading around in cat shit like that, breathing in pure ammonia, trying to save about two dozen cats unlucky enough to have ended up there, would have resulted in a life long friendship. I lucked out.