Erin's Journals

Well, here’s some good news: according to the New York Times, FDA food inspectors are being brought back to work, so perhaps I can feel safe buying salads from the store again.
 
I promised you yesterday that I’d finish my Olive Garden story.
 
To recap: Rob and I visited the restaurant in nearby Palm Desert to treat ourselves to their salad, breadsticks and menu offerings. If you’ve seen the American ads for their lobster, shrimp mac & cheese, I can tell you that there was far more lobster on TV than there was in my little dish, but it was satisfying nonetheless. Uncharacteristically, since it was a “special item” there were no calories posted on the menu; I guess that means the dish didn’t have any? Yeah – nice try. I ordered it anyway.
 
When we entered the restaurant, we noticed three TVs behind the bar. One had on Fox “News.” I tweeted about that and was sent a direct message asking that I continue the conversation off Twitter and they apologized for letting me down. While I realized that was a pretty standard cut-and-paste response, I was somewhat satisfied even to have been heard. Then I got this email from the actual restaurant itself.
 

 
Dear Erin,
 
The televisions in our restaurants are usually tuned to news or sports. Our employees should also change the channel if there is any objectionable content. Because they spend most of their time serving our guests, it’s not always possible to monitor what’s on the screen. We’re sorry that Fox News being aired took away from your dining experience.
 
Comments from our guests are appreciated, especially when we didn’t meet your expectations, and yours will ensure we are always serving you in the best manner possible.
 
Sincerely,
 
Sonali
Olive Garden Guest Relations

Someone on my Facebook page yesterday suggested that maybe the TV had been left on after a football game; I responded to him that Fox “News” doesn’t air football (at least not to my knowledge) but that, of course, their programming network – the one that carries The Simpsons, etc. – does. So, no, that wasn’t the case.
 
At least they got back to me. At least. I don’t know if we’ll choose to dine there again, as there are so many different offerings (yes, even a Cheesecake Factory) and we rarely go out to dinner. So it’s wise to spread our little Canadian dollars around when we go out.
 
But I feel that at least this one person has been heard. What they choose to do with my input is completely up to them. Red Lobster wisely pulled their ads from hateful Tucker Carlson’s show after he said that immigrants make America “poor” and “dirtier.” People are making themselves heard with their wallets and since voting can’t be guaranteed to produce the desired outcome – thanks to all kinds of mitigating factors, from the Electoral College to foreign meddling – at least the bottom line for the bottom feeders is suffering.
 
Finally, here’s what I wrote back to Sonali:

Dearest Sonali –
 
Thank you for a sincere and thoughtful reply.
 
My response to you, in addition to gratitude, is that where constant misinformation and propaganda are concerned, Fox News is always objectionable content. (And this is from a Canadian!) You might not think we have a “dog in this fight” but the destruction of the peaceful democracy that our massive neighbours to the south – you folks – have always displayed is being dismantled and shattered with every passing day. It breaks our hearts, as your friendly neighbours, and that’s why my distinct distaste where Fox is concerned.
 
Please rethink your policy of having a news channel on. In any casino we visited in Vegas it was (predictably) all sports, but there are so many other channels from which to choose.
 
And once again, I know we’re just two people – irrationally excited to see an Olive Garden after so many in Canada did not survive – but we care deeply for the democracy and the situation that is happening in your country.
 
Sincerely,
 
Erin Davis

And that’s how our conversation went. Again, as I say in the letter, our comments and feelings don’t amount (to quote Rick in Casablanca) to a “hill of beans” but maybe, just maybe, Sonali and other folks at this beloved restaurant chain will think twice – or even once – about what’s on their TVs. Have a lovely day and I’ll be back with you tomorrow.
 

And so the US government shutdown stretches into its fourth week with absolutely no end in sight. A ridiculous wall that malevalent Roger Stone and his brain trust came up with to help tRump stay on message in his campaign rallies has become the barrier between hundreds of thousands of government workers and their much-needed paychecks.
 
Keeping in mind a stat that said most Americans (and probably a good number of Canadians) were only about $400 between meeting their bill deadlines and financial disaster, you have to believe that the holidays and just living have eaten up a lot of families’ and individuals’ reserves. It’s so sad.
 
On the positive side, Canadian air traffic controllers were buying pizza for their American counterparts. That was a nice story; of course, it’s terrible that they need it. There have been food banks set up in the Tampa, Florida airport for employees’ families. (“If you’re travelling through Tampa International, bring some donations….”)
 
It’s all just pathetic. A guy who built his image on being able to make deals (although we all know he didn’t write The Art of the Deal, Tony Schwartz did, to his massive regret), simply won’t – or can’t – negotiate. Prior to the shutdown, he had 100 percent votes from both sides for money for the repairs to the wall and when far right wing loudmouths Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter told tRump not to back down, he backpedalled. Dealmaker, indeed.
 
Because of the shutdown, we’ve been worried about buying produce down here and, as such, have been digging into the freezer for whatever offerings Costco tempted us with when first we arrived. Chicken pot pie? My oh my! Lasagna? Bring it on, yeah! But I’ve been craving salads and was worried about buying produce, given that inspectors have been laid off and lettuce seems especially susceptible to E. coli and other nastiness. What to do? First off, look for accurate information.
 
Fortunately, I came across an NPR article that allayed our fears somewhat. Apparently stores like Costco have their own stringent set of inspections, so as to avoid a debacle like having to recall a large amount of food. Here’s the story, which you may want to share if you have friends or family south of the border this winter. 
 
But wait, there’s more! Before I read this NPR story, still craving salad, Rob and I went for a late lunch on Friday to the Olive Garden in nearby Palm Desert. With just six such restaurants in Canada (all in the west) it’s been a long time since we’d indulged in their bottomless salads and soft breadsticks. So off we went.
 
I anticipated a pleasant experience and, for the most part, it was. But upon entering the restaurant, behind the greeters’ podium were three TVs. One of them was set on Fox “News.” Now, it wasn’t as though the other two were CNN or MSNBC. No, it was the only channel of its type on the TVs. I gritted my teeth and hoped we wouldn’t be seated anywhere that I could see the nauseating channel that has helped dupe so many already ill-informed Americans. (Thankfully we were not.)
 
I always keep in mind that I’m a guest in this country. The person at the table next to us could have voted for tRump; I remember that, too. It seemed especially likely when we took a look at him: the guy who wore a long white pony tail under his Harley ballcap. He just looked like someone at a MAGA rally.
 
Before we had ordered and as he was leaving, he joined us in a conversation about the My Fitness Pal app that we were discussing with our shared server. He seemed nice enough, I suppose. Probably is. Lost 20 pounds in three weeks using that app (which I’m back on, too). But we did not talk politics. Why would we, unless I was looking to get into trouble? And as much as I despise hats on in restaurants – something I’m just going to have to get over, obviously – it was a Harley lid and not a MAGA hat. I had no quarrel with this man.
 
We ate our meal and went home, but not before I took one last look over my shoulder at the TVs. Yep, Fox “News” was still on. And soon Tucker “Immigrants are dirty” Carlson and tRump’s personal mouthpiece (and Michael Cohen client #3) Sean Hannity would be coming on and spewing their lies. 
 
I couldn’t stay quiet.
 
Once at home, I went to the Olive Garden’s website and left a comment. An auto response said that they’d get back to me within five days. Reasonable enough. Then I went on Twitter and wrote: “Just wrote @olivegarden about how unappetizing it was to see state-run Faux “News” on their bar TV as we entered. They promise a response within 5 days. I’ll let you know.”
 
About five minutes after I posted that to my 24.7 k followers, I noticed @olivegarden following me. Then I got a message from them asking me to DM them with my comments. In other words, “We want to hear your complaint, but let’s take it offline.” Okay, I thought, I’ll respect your request – and I did. 
 
I wrote: 

Hi folks – my husband and I visited your location in Palm Desert CA yesterday and were delighted with the service and menu. What almost had us leave before sitting down was seeing Fox “News” on one of three TVs behind the bar. Regardless of whom you advertise with (and I hope it’s not State Run propaganda TV) I’d rather be greeted by an aquarium or the weather channel than a station that has done nothing but spew lies and dispense misinformation. Please ask the OG GM to rethink her/his choice of TV channels. Because as newcomers to Palm Springs we don’t want to rethink our choice of reasonable family restaurants. Thank you, Erin Davis.

I’m pretty sure that the response I received within moments was cookie cutter (or pasta maker) in its contents.
 

 
Nonetheless, it felt good at least to let them know that, no, it wasn’t okay (in our opinion) to have that hate-filled channel on in a restaurant. I realize that it could have been a case of thoughtlessness rather than by design: the bartender just changed to what the solo patron having a drink asked him to, someone put it on while cleaning overnight and that’s what it was on. Or just maybe the boss WANTED that channel on. I would find out the next day, and I’ll share that letter from the restaurant with you here tomorrow.
 
For now, I’ll climb down from this soapbox now and get back to making my Fitness Pal proud of me today. I’ve got to walk off some breadsticks and pasta – even though the Palm Spring rain was of Biblical proportions yesterday.
 
By the way, if you need a smile, here’s a link to the latest video from Randy Rainbow, a guy I think is just so funny and talented. I think you’ll enjoy his musical take on the border wall situation. Turn it up!
 

A Quick Note: I’ve added a What’s Up post to my website homepage (just scroll up if you’re reading this on Monday), so you can check in to see where I’ll be speaking next. For example, it’s official that I’ll be at Chapters Indigo in Oshawa on Wednesday, February 27 at 7 pm. Wait to buy your book then and maybe we’ll see you at Chapters! 
 
I trust you stayed warm this weekend and are ready to face a brand new week. I did and I am, so here we go!
 
There have been some big and not-so-big things going on in the world of late, and being focussed on things like angels and books and such here, I haven’t had a chance to weigh in on a few. They’re pretty minute in the big picture, but they’ve gotten me thinking. Thought they might be food for thought for you, as well.
 
A study last week showed that the people most likely to spread so-called “fake news” on Facebook are over 65 years old and lean politically to the right. I had to stop and think about it and I believe I’ve come up with a reason. 
 
I’m reminded of the early days of the internet, when Rob’s dear stepmom would send us warnings about needles at ATMs (“welcome to the world of AIDS” the note nearby would say) and such. I was even at a memorial where a bereaved father cited the hoax of a drugged person waking up in a bathtub of ice with no kidney, as illustration of how awful the world is. Yes, it can be awful (and certainly was to his murdered daughter), but that story was just not true. 
 
Every day, I get dozens of notes to my now defunct Facebook page (not the one that you visit, I’m sure – the one I shut down has no face picture) about friend requests, holding a finger down, etc. and it’s a hoax. Just not true. I’ve given up writing to people to tell them; there’s just no point and I don’t want to make them feel foolish. I’m not the internet police and can only control what I put out there. 
 
So you see, there are plenty of ways for unsuspecting people to get tripped up. And even in 2019 when we should all know better, some still simply do not suspect, or they choose not to ask, since it fits with their world view. My solution: Google the subject of the story and add the word “hoax.” 98.1% of the time, my spidey senses are correct.
 
But here’s the reason I believe that fake news is spread more by seniors than anyone else. My grandmother back in the 1980s would read the National Enquirer (or the “Inquiry” as she’d call it). When I’d tell her that many of the stories she was reading simply weren’t true, she’d ask in all innocence, “Well, then, how can they print them?”
 
That’s the world she – and many of us – grew up in. You just couldn’t put something in print unless it could be backed up with facts (except for the trash by the cash which seemingly has always been held to a much lower standard until someone stepped up and sued their miserable butts). The same belief goes for outlets like Fox News, who routinely fabricate and are simply mouthpieces (and inspiration) for tRump. Although it’s not licensed as a news outlet, it’s in their name and, therefore, viewers believe what they are watching.
 
Thankfully, here in Canada, a news network is held to a higher standard. You may not agree with the perspective one takes, but at least you know they’re obligated to be factual and not incendiary propaganda machines like the aforementioned US network – the one that spread the Birther movement and has some people still believing that the 44th POTUS is a “secret Muslim,” for heaven’s sake.
 
My take is that seniors believe because they can’t imagine people just putting together such convincing lies. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the rest of us have been raised in a more skeptical age. And Facebook news is the place where the most disinformation is spread. Oh, Zuckerberg, what hath you wrought?
 
I always felt sheepish about sending back Rob’s stepmom’s emails and telling her that they just weren’t true. Her heart was in the right place and I never wanted to embarrass this bright woman by correcting her. All I ever hoped was that it wouldn’t be spread any further. I’m afraid I’m whistling in the wind these days….
 
Have a gentle Monday and I’ll be back here tomorrow. And that’s the truth!
 

Okay, you’re going to think I’m nuts – and unless you’re new here, you’ve probably had that thought already! And I’m right there with you on that, some days. Maybe, strangely enough, it’s what’s kept me sane.
 
But something ELSE really freaky has happened this week and you may have spotted it yourself yesterday if you clicked through to Books and Brunch, for which I am going to be a guest on Sunday, February 24 at Wooden Sticks Golf Course in Uxbridge. I’ll tell you about it in a second…but first, in a wonderful bit of news (well, for me, anyway) Sunday has sold out. 
 
But…the Blue Heron books website has announced a second event on Saturday, February 23rd. I received an email from Shelley Macbeth late yesterday with the following info:

Whew! What a day…. with Erin announcing our event, the phone/email blew up…. We go in touch with Erin and her publicist and were quickly able to cobble together an alternate event. Erin’s like that! So, if you were unable to get through today via phone or email, here’s the news–
 
We have added an up close and personal ‘Dessert and Coffee’ event with Erin the day before our brunch event. The details are as follows:
 
Date:  Saturday, February 23rd
Time: 2:00 pm (doors open at 1:30)
Place: Wooden Sticks Golf Club https://woodensticks.com/
Ticket Price:  $24 + HST and includes dessert, coffee/tea, a $5 coupon towards the purchase of Erin’s book, Mourning Has Broken, which Erin will sign
 
There are two ways you can guarantee your tickets. You can phone the store at 905-852-4282 with your credit card (instant acknowledgement), or you can order online here: https://blueheronbooks.com/?q=p.book_events. If you are ordering online, don’t forget to complete your order — sometimes people omit the last step and the order never reaches us.
 
As we are a small store it’s difficult to process many incoming orders at one time so please be patient! The store opens at 10:00 am if you are phoning in.

Whew indeed! And please, please don’t call the store until after 10 am if you don’t mind, as per Shelley’s request. Yesterday on my public Facebook page there were many questions about advance ordering, signings and the possibility of further appearances. I can tell you for certain that there definitely WILL be more visits and as a soon as I ge details and green lights and all of the things that are out of my hands, I will post them both here in the journal and on FB and Twitter. (I do try to remember Instagram, but if that’s your fave social media, just check in here every weekday for updates.)
 
Things move very quickly, as I’ve learned, and I can’t always keep you posted in real time about ticket sales and such. All I can say is that there are more places to come and, if I had my way, I’d stop everywhere from Niagara Region to Peterborough (and yes, Elaine, I know you’ve requested London, ON).
 
As for signings, if you’ve pre-ordered a book and they’re not available in time when you come to the live presentations, not to worry: I have a very nice collection of cards featuring the book cover that I will be happy to sign for you. Best of all, we’ll get to spend a little time together. That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.
 
And let me say if you couldn’t give a tinker’s damn about the book, I do apologize for focusing on it of late. This is a really big time in our lives and it’ll settle down soon enough. Thanks for your patience.
 
One final angel note as we finish this incredible week: I was preparing yesterday’s journal, I asked Rob to post a screen shot of the Blue Heron website. And he asked me, “Did you scroll down to see who else is coming?” and I said no. He said the name of an author who’s also been booked for B&B later in the year and I almost fell out of my chair.
 

 
Okay, so our daughter is Lauren D. Davis – sharing the middle name Dawn with her mom. But honestly. Lauren B. Davis? What a lovely coincidence!
 
Thank you, always, for coming by. Have a wonderful weekend.
 

How can someone get jet lag without even being on a plane? I guess our little trip to Vegas was a bit more excitement (okay, a LOT more) than this gal is used to; I’m still just resting and trying to catch up. How did I ever do this and still get up at 3:30 am the next day?
 
The schedule for my visits and interviews during February in the GTA is getting carved in stone, and I can’t wait to share it all with you. You already know about the two sold-out Oakville appearances, but we have a new one to add to the list: Books and Brunch on February 24th in Uxbridge. It sounds like a wonderful event and here are the details. I’m optimistic tickets will sell quickly, so please, if you’re even considering it, get them today.
 

 
I was going to share some “tales of tails” in terms of dog-friendly travel tomorrow but something has just come up that has me shaking my head. You may suggest after this week’s woo-woo journals of angels and found money, that I should have done that a long time ago. But this is really bizarre. I’ll have that for you to wrap up the week tomorrow. Promise.
 
In the meantime, we stopped off at a spot in Primm, Nevada, just on the edge – and I do mean the very edge – of the California border. They get gamblers just the second they cross into Nevada. We weren’t among them, but in one hotel, Whiskey Pete’s (among three hotel/casinos in one spot owned by the same company), there was something to see that was more memorable than a four-of-a-kind: the actual car in which gangsters Bonnie and Clyde met their end.
 

 
It was downright spooky, I’ll tell you – and I’m not just referring to the mannequins! Far cheerier was a spot in a casino/hotel called Terrible’s, a chain of gas stations that grew into much, much more, called – yes – Terrible’s. Do you think a 21st century focus group would allow THAT name to happen? Anyway, it wasn’t terrible at all. There, you could see TV’s Batmobile…
 

 
…as well as a car used in the stage show Grease Live! which I’m sure Rob and I enjoyed in Toronto thanks to the Mirvishes.
 

 
Finally, here’s the very DeLorean gullwing stainless steel set of wheels from the three Back to the Future movies. Don’t ask me why these are all on display right there at the Cal/Nev border, but I thought you might find them as interesting as we did!
 

 
Have a lovely Thursday and we’ll be back with you tomorrow. Thanks for sharing in the adventures on this first full week of 2019. Boy, if they’re all like this, I’m going to have to start napping again.