Ever wonder what happened to my 8,932 miles on Podunk Airlines? Or those 5,331 rewards points on that ridiculous hotel chain that I thought I was going to be loyal to? I will tell you exactly what did happen.
It got converted into smelly papers. Smelly what?
Here is the scoop - Americans love to carry cards in their wallet. These cards belong to variety of clubs and super markets and airlines and hotels. Every aspect of daily life has a fan following or so it would seem and then as more and more businesses try to grapple with the same set of people they keep offering all of these people some ridiculous reward after another.
I am of course referring to the ubiquitous rewards for everything culture that has come to pervade modern society (esp in the US).
As people consume copious amounts of that new non fat yogurt or extra creamy gelato or fill their feet into that newest sneaker sensation they earn those extra bonus points. These collect in various impossible to remember buckets like lost bank accounts. If you think about it they do have intrinsic value in that they are currency for specific purpose. You cannot buy dinner with those sneaker points but you can get laces next time you stop in that store. Now its another matter entirely that no one in their right mind buys laces anymore - they just get new shoes...much like the ball point pen refills that are meant for the museums as no one actually refills their pens anymore.
So there is this exchange or points broker business that takes all these little wayward points that people seem to collect every time they sneeze or walk past a mall or a fast food place trying to woo your wallet to come and see the peep show.
They process them for a fee paid by the provider of the points and in turn them into even more devalued and meaningless pieces of rewards that are good for only one thing - retarded magazines and periodicals that are trying to peddle more of those same fast foods, airlines, perfumes and sneakers. Ah ha - you burn so you can burn some more - money that is.
So it is that I turned in my collection of these gillion little points and subscribed to a whole host of face and body altering; car tire changing solution providing or eyebrow toning magazines. Filled with awards and articles around beauty (for you and your car) these magazines did provide one little nugget that was quite useful.
Each came with copious amounts of sample perfumes attached to a little strip of foldout papers with some unusually made up face from the silverscreen touting the ageless fragrant nature of the product. I ripped them all out and put them in all of my clothing - pockets, drawers even stuck it on hangers. Now the entire wardrobe smells - how do I say it - divine!
This autumn the weather gods cooperated as we took a family trip in the northeast to see six states that qualify or makeup what is known colloquially in America as New England. Mass, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island (tiniest state in the union). The outing helped tally up the states we either lived in, visited or have worked in to 47. Guess which three have eluded this intrepid traveling family. Any rate the drive was all in about 1,800 miles and included some memorable geographic wonders or points of interest. Easternmost part of state of Massachusetts being one. Furthest drivable road east in Mass being another. Visit to all Ivy League schools (term harkens to a collegiate athletics conference and generally regarded as elite academic institutes of some repute worldwide) is another random bucket list item of which this trip afforded the chance to knock two more of the list. Dartmouth in Hanover, NH and Brown (and its sister institute the RISD - school f
You can't complain now that all marketing is useless- the perfume story proves it. Now if only someone can reward you and your home for smelling good....
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