DP Challenge: A Peachy Story…
“Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.” Mark Twain
Weekly Writing Challenge: A Peachy Story…
When All Is Said And Done… Is life a peach?
The peaches looked promising. Not an ugly or unripe one in sight. Perfectly shaped and smooth to touch, they were a strong shade of red with tinges of yellow and looked ready to eat. What caught my attention that morning was the delicate aroma and elegant package. Handpicked, delicately packed in tissue and boxed in a wooden crate, you could smell these peaches in the dark. See, the local discount club had them on sale. $5.99 for a batch of nine. Price was right. Peaches looked ripe and good. Shoot, they even winked at this buyer. What’s not to love, right? So I bought some and spent time selecting the “perfect” box. Peaches were everywhere, begging to be picked. “Yo miss, pick me! pick me!” It looked deceptively easy picking the best peaches but, there’s a back and forth dance in the fruit selection process; a trade off here, a reconsideration there, an invitation to touch, sniff, hold it… somewhere in the middle.
“Life is better than death, I believe, if only because it is less boring and because it has fresh peaches in it.” Thomas Walker
DP Challenge: A Peachy Story… The culprit
Is life a bag of chips?
A few pretty peaches were switched from one box to another; a tactic most people like to use. Take three from box two, two from box ten… Then create a new box, (call it #9), with a perfect set. With my priced purchase, #9, in tow, I headed home, hoping to savor a peach or two. Alas, it all came to naught as those peaches didn’t last. Once home, mi familia jumped all over said fruit. One bite, two bites, and trouble was set to brew. Something sinister was brewing inside those gleaming bitches peaches. All was not well in Peachland. A few bites and we discovered they were wooly and nasty; sans taste. Those damn peaches were cotton balls dressed as fruit. Sub par pretenders to the peach throne. What to do when a batch of attractive looking peaches turn out to be duds? Make some calls and ship ’em back. Right? More below! 😉
“One does a whole painting for one peach and people think just the opposite — that particular peach is but a detail.” Pablo Picasso
Weekly Writing Challenge: A Peachy Story…
Or a bowl of gift cherries?
Now peach deprived, we called the store and a rep offered to call us back… shortly. The call came at noon. “Hello?” “Sure. Drop ’em off for a full refund and a free box of peaches.” said the rep. “Really?” A full refund and a free box of peaches?” said yours truly, rather redundantly. “Certainly. And apologies for the problem!” she trilled. “No problema senorita… I’m on it!” I said, grinning from ear to ear. Those rotten peaches suddenly looked like a twisted gift from the Gods: Go to store. Buy deception parading as pretty peaches. Discover the truth. Call for help. Get full refund. Get free fruit and goodwill back by noon. What’s the lesson here? WE can choose to be passive recipients of all the crap life tosses our way or be actively engaged in asking for help, resolutions, restitution, or gifts from the Gods. Life isn’t always peachy perfect but it sure helps to believe in something close to it. What’s the lesson? Do tell.
Have a spectacular day! You are already a blessing to others. 🙂 What are your thoughts? Did you ever return an item and get more back? Would you have called to complain about a defective item? What impact has your reluctance to speak up had on your life? What insights could you offer others? Do share! Thank you. 😉
*Please bear with me as I catch up on your blogs and commenting… I’m back on track with reading and responding to your blogs; albeit at a slow pace. Thank you all for your patience! 🙂
This post was inspired by a prompt from a WP DP Weekly Writing Challenge: Listen to the Voices in Your Head
Positive Motivation Tip: Life can be a peach if you stay active or a bitch if you remain passive and let shit fly at you. Go live!
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos: cross sectioned peach, autumn red peach, via Wikipedia, Flickr or from Facebook/my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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All that glitters is not gold!
That is for sure. 😉
or the other one…we should not judge a book by its cover!
Ahem to that one too. TY PIP! 🙂
Thanks a bunch,eh!
You are welcome.. TY too! 🙂
thanks for the inspiration. your post spawned a whole update in mine!
TY for the mention and I just read your update… You did a great job. Have no fear. 😉
thanks! (yay!)
😆
Yum yum 😉
Really? TY! :lo:
and in response to your actual question: i’m a lawyer. i complain about everything. i get vouchers back for furniture delivered in pieces and with parts missing, free line rental when the telephone company mucks up the transfer to my new home, a refund when the energy supply is on the blink.
it really does pay to stand up for yourself, but there’s still a part of me that hates the confrontation. i hate the feeling in the pit of my stomach when i have to make the call. most of all, i don’t like that as a society we have become a bunch of complainers because that’s what it takes to get the level of service that should have been delivered in the first place. i am of course talking about customer service and the like and not more naturally occurring and perhaps unforeseeable frustrations (like bad peaches), but it’s in those areas in particular that those less able to take a stand are taken for a ride.
i dunno, sometimes, life just is a peach.
Yeah, I hear you… My family sometimes tells me to let stuff go.. But I believe in standing up for the principle of the thing. Why pay $10 for putrid cheese at a market (which I will be returning pronto)? It is great when the merchant is gracious… as with the peaches (they stand by their produce and take returns). But it is frustrating when they are rude… a local cake bakery was extremely rude and I no longer patronize them. Life is short. If they are belligerent, I settle my dispute with them as quickly and amicably as possible, and stop shopping there. TY! 🙂
Oh…so many times…and you just throw it away and complain…Not any more!…I bought it expecting to enjoy and do return if not pleased…only bad thing…so time consuming sometimes…and then you get another batch of bad product…Does it ever end???~mkg
Luckily, my free peaches were delicious and as described… But it can be hit or miss. I do make the effort to follow through on returns. In this tight economy, it makes no sense to just throw stuff away. Most merchants are nice about it… Thank God! 🙂
I love your point in this post, but I have to say I say that coming. Nectarines are peaches woolliless sister lol. Love them!
TY Catherine! What made this an item to return is the fact that the four or so we tried were wooly!!! Thank God it was resolved happily. 🙂
Agree with you mostly, but have to agree with Monkeymuesli! Miss those days when things were what they claimed to be and complaining wasn’t the norm 🙂
Yes, I miss those days too… This was an innocent problem as the merchant had no way of knowing the peaches would be bad… But some merchants know and keep quiet until you complain… That is awful. Sadly, a lot has changed for sure. TY for your feedback! 🙂
What a clever post, Elizabeth. Your point is so well made and with such great illustrations. Life is just complex, all the time! I find I need more time to sit and contemplate my views, my positions, my attitude! And when I can do that, I usually realize that I have more resilience than I think, and I can make choices as to how I go forward from any event. The only thing that seems to never help is complaining! Your post serves as an excellent public service announcement! 🙂 Debra
I agree… it’s always best to go back to the merchant and fix the problem and then hopefully the result would be a post like mine where I share my delight in the merchant’s good customer service. TY! 🙂
Great customer service skills 😀
Love the Picasso quote about peaches. Fun article, thanks for sharing this! Karen
Your post has raised a whole lot of questions in my mind, Elizabeth. Do I walk away from a such a lousy job but which gives me more freedom to do what I like best doing, writing and blogging or look for another one that might not give me so much time on hands (and mind you, here are no Jobs in Ghana?) To be or not to be;……Great post
What a fun post! Now I want some perfectly juicy peaches. So I’m gonna go get some. Thanks!
TY for your comment and humor. 😉
I love your PMT(positivemotivationtip) … good one! 😉
Ooh, I love Peaches! I have to have some in lunch. Gives a very nice acidic, clean flavor in my mouth after the consumption of usual savory curry and roti/rice.