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Long Term Penguin Credit
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| Written by admin1 |
| A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a man who claimed to be
wondering around outside our Penguin Place HQ building here at 220
Water St in Brooklyn. The man said he was searching for Penguin Place
but it looked like he was in front of an abandoned building and there's
nothing to indicate that there's a penguin shop there. I
told him he's at the right place, he should stay put and I promptly went
down stairs to fetch him. Upon finding a large man with a big grin
and a Texas accent on the sidewalk outside I ushered him inside and while walking up the
five flights of stairs to my igloo he introduced himself as Calvin
Skidmore, he went on to explain that he had phoned in an order about 8 years
ago, and at the time was in desperate need of receiving his penguins
right away as it was for his girlfriends birthday that same week. He also told me that when he phoned in the order nearly a decade ago he was having some credit card issues, but he had assured me he'd send a check for the penguin order that very same day. Well,
usually I don't operate that way at Penguin-Place.com, but Calvin must
have been very persuasive and i must have been in a very good mood because
according to Calvin that's the way the deal went down. Except for the fact that I sent him the
penguins, but Calvin did not send a check that day, nor did he the day after or ever. Calvin then went on to
tell me that in the course of the next 24 - 48 hours after his phone
order with me all those years ago he lost his job, his girlfriend and
all sorts of "other stuff" he'd didn't want get into. So, although his
penguins arrived a couple of days later, his check for $78.85 did
not. Nor, did it ever arrive. A couple of weeks later when I
attempted to phone Calvin at the number he left us his phone had been
disconnected with no forwarding number. So, as far as I was concerned
short of hiring a bounty hunter that was that. But, Calvin told me
that he had indeed gone through some very hard times that all began
right after he placed the penguin order although he could see no direct
correlation between his string of bad luck and the penguins. But, he
went on that he had never forgotten the trust, kindness and cool
penguins that had offered him unconditionally all those years ago.
These days things are going much better for Calvin and he was in New
York on business and to see Yankee Stadium before they tore it down. He
told me that he didn't want to just mail me a check, but he wanted to
pay me in person and thank me for sending him his penguins on trust all
those years ago. I told him i knew all along he'd pay up all along,
although i just barely remember the whole non-transaction. We chatted, he looked around and we took a picture together in front of my penguins in the refrigerator display (left over from my brick and morter days), and he
purchased an XXL Penguin Of Liberty T-shirt which I added to his
initial bill. His total from his original charge and the shirt he
purchased came to $95.80 without interest or penalties, and
he settled up with his Gold Visa Card. Now, I'm just waiting for Calvin
to e-mail the picture he took of us with his digital camera. It might
be waiting a while.
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