Randi's RedAlert Blog

We have a business expert on the AM show tomorrow talking about how to "successfully" argue with your boss.  Do you have any suggestions??? 

Have you argued with your boss and won?  I want stories!!  Perhaps we'll feature them on our AM segment Tuesday morning.

Thx,

Randi

 

Did anyone try to redeem a Wal Mart Gift card in the St. Louis area the day after Christmas?  Apparantly their computer system that reads the cards crashed and wouldn't allow shoppers to redeem them.  Wal-Mart is not specifying how many stores were affected.  So help us out.  Any stores locally turn you away when you tried to use it?  We wanna know.

Thanks.

Glenn Zimmerman became a Grandfather early on Tuesday morning...Congratulations!!!

Little Oliver is 8lbs 7oz.  21 inches..

 

Got some "Grandfatherly" advice for Glenn???

This will make you all warm and fuzzy inside...

 In the true spirit of Holiday giving...coffee drinkers bought java for OTHER people in the Drive Thru line of a Starbucks for 3-hours.  142 people did this...It's a campaign by the company to "Pass the Stabucks, pass the cheer"  Luvs it!!

But I want to know this...who's the Scrooge who stopped the string of kindness???

Share your story of Holiday Kindness on this Blog!!!

HERE'S THE ARTICLE:

Call it the spirit of the season. For more than three hours Tuesday, drive-through customers at the Starbucks on Bloomington’s east side didn’t pay for the coffee they ordered.

Rather, as each customer reached the drive-through window, he or she was told the order had been paid by the driver who had just pulled away.

By the time it was over, about 142 people had spread the Christmas spirit.

It all started about 9:20 a.m. when an anonymous woman told the drive-through worker at the restaurant at Veterans Parkway and Washington Street that she wanted to pay for the person behind her in line, said employee Erik Zambrano.

“She just wanted to wish the next person a merry Christmas,” Zambrano said.

Initially, the Pantagraph heard the spirit of giving was going on at the nearby Krispy Kreme doughnut business. But a check showed it wasn’t going on there.

But a later inquiry at Starbucks proved the Christmas spirit was alive and well. In fact, said Zambrano, people kept paying for the orders of the motorists in front of them until 12:57 p.m.

“I explained the person in front of them had paid for their order. Customers would offer to pay for the order behind them,” Zambrano said. “Typically, they were ecstatic the person had paid for their order.”

Customers really wanted to keep the chain going, said Zambrano, adding, “It has happened before. Someone would pay for a drink, but not that many. (Tuesday) it just went on and on and on.”

Occasionally, the store saw some breaks in business, but the random acts of kindness didn’t end just because the line was empty: A few drivers donated about $5 toward the next person’s order if no one else was waiting, Zambrano said.

A typical order was $3 to $5, he said, though an occasional person had a large order.

“Sometimes, they would pay part of those large orders,” Zambrano said. “Then (the person who placed the order) would pay the rest, but that didn’t happen too often.”

Describe your worst kiss EVER!!!

NO NAMES PLEASE!!!!!

The St. Louis Science Center will be hosting the "Body Worlds" exhibit.  It is very controversial in that it displays actual human corpses.  It shows organs and anatomy in graphic detail.

Is it a learning experience? Art? Disrespectful? or just plain wrong?  I'd love to hear your opinion.  We'll be live at teh Science Center Thursday morning and perhaps some of your opinions will be read on the air.

By the way, I will be taking my 14 year old daughter to see it.  She can earn extra credit in her Biology class if she files a report on what she sees. 

Thanks,

Randi

 

 

We've got a mouse loose in the studio!!!  He's been tooling around here for a couple of days now...he's been spotted a few times.  If he's going to stick around for awhile...he needs a name!  Suggestions????

TMZ is reporting Brad and Angelina have done it again..they've adopted.  This time, it's not a child...it's a Pit Bull puppy.  No matter what your thoughts are on Pit Bulls, their owners and the breed in general, it will no doubt open up the Pitt-Jolie's to a TON of criticism and even more attention.  They now have 4 children under the age of 10...What are your thoughts?

How the Blog was born.  I subscribe to a great online newsletter called "Neatorama".  They always provide fun factoids and neat photographs.  Today, I received the one below...it's the anniversary of the Blog!  10-years since it's been born.  Who knew that 10-years later, the blogging community here at FOX-2 woud be Livin Large on the Net!  Wut say you about that Bloggers???

FROM NEATORAMS:

We are approaching a decade since the first blogger — regarded by many to be Jorn Barger — began his business of hunting and gathering links to items that tickled his fancy, to which he appended some of his own commentary. On Dec. 23, 1997, on his site, Robot Wisdom, Mr. Barger wrote: “I decided to start my own webpage logging the best stuff I find as I surf, on a daily basis,” and the Oxford English Dictionary regards this as the primordial root of the word “weblog.”

Randi here..

What did YOU do this holiday weekend?  Here's a rundown of what I did..

Thursday night..came home from Hollywood, had a good night sleep.  ( needed that!)

Friday..prepared ALL day for the Mother of all Yard sales!  Had din din w/the hubby.

Saturday...Spend ALL day in my driveway hosting the Mother of all yard sales...it went very well..soo glad that's over!

Sunday...hung around the house in the AM..laundry, cleaning, etc...Spent some time with my daughter @ the stables watching her ride her horse....went to see Pirates of the Caribbean..(what did U think of it?)  I thought it was toooo long...waaay too long to be crammed into that theatre without a potty break.  I liked part one the best..but Johnny Depp NEVER fails as Capt. Jack Sparrow.  (Can you say, "here comes another sequel?")

Monday..woke up early..went to play golf with hubby...I like to swing the stix, I did OK..my short game was better than my drives this time..(NEVER consistant).  Took my daugher and her friend to the pool..a little bit chilly, but it FINALLY felt like summertime...I LOVE being near ANY water..(I should have been a fish. I AM a Pisces, after all)...

home now, more laundry...gonna spark up the grill and make some din..then it's bed time for me..gotta hit the hay..early wake up call tomorrow...it's back to work...see you in the AM @ 5!~  I hope your day off was filled with family and fun.  C-ya!    Tell me what U did.

 

One of my New Year's resolution was to FINALLY have the Mother of all yard sales.  I'm proud to say that I've been digging through boxes, clothes, knick-knacks and what-nots for MONTHS...I've inhaled more dust than I care to think about.  I am pleasantly surprised at the amount of storage space I ACTUALLY have...Wow!  That's alot of stuff.  It truly WILL be the MOTHER OF ALL YARD SALES!  Only a couple of weeks away.  I've done this before, but not on such a grand scale. I've unwrapped things I'd forgotten about for years..some of which will be on the shelves at the sale, others have been re-tucked away.  Spring cleaning is truly a cleansing of sorts.  Fun memories...shocking reactions to bad hairdos in old photos...You don't have to have a yard sale..just dig around in those boxes...I guarantee you'll come out of the basement with a smile....and a nose full of dust!

On a recent day off,  I had the opportunity to walk the perimeter of Creve Coeur Lake on the newly refurbished walking path.  It was quite an invigorating 5-mile power walk.   It had been awhile since I've done this because it's a bit more of a drive from where I live now.  I must say, it was one of the most pleasant times in a county park in a long time.  It was 7am...animals everywhere.  The rowers were on the lake, I saw deer, turkey, raccoon, wood ducks, geese..you name it.  Furthermore, the park was very clean..signs were great and informative.  There were quite a few dead fish here and there, but if I recall, it's always been that way.  The County Parks department has done a nice job of making it family friendly..at least at 7 in the morning.  Let's hope when the warmer weather hits,  some folks with booming car stereos, certain "aromas" wafting from their picnic sites, public necking and constant cruising won't ruin what the Parks Department has done.  I know I've complained to Park Rangers of these issues in the past when I've had my child there for a family outing, only to be ruined by certain people who have no regard for children who are present.  Are you listening St. Louis County Parks Department?

Hi, Randi Here.

I was very touched to meet Antonio Beaver. (See his incredible interview on the Morning Show on our website). He is the man who was wrongfully accused of carjacking in the 1990's. DNA evidence and the work of the Innocence Project freed him after spending 10-years and 7 months in jail. Last night, he slept in a soft bed. He ate what he called, "real food" . His back is feeling better he says. He's getting used to his new pager and texter..new technology you know. This man has missed out on so much. He's lost contact with his two sons and their mother. He wants to reunite with them. What floored me about this man is that he has forgiven the woman who wrongfully accused him of this crime that put him away for a good chunk of his life. Time, he says he can never get back. He found God in jail...God forgives, he says, and so can he. Amazing.

After his interview, Mr. Beaver said he was on his way to the employment office. He needs a job, he needs money, a place to stay (his Uncle is putting him up temporarily), and hopefully eventually a car.

The state has promised to give this man $50.00 per day that he was wrongfully imprisoned. $180,000. A nice chunk of change...but is it enough?

We have been receiving calls from people who want to offer Mr. Beaver a job. I even took a call from a nice lady who wants to give him money. She too thought it was amazing that he is forgiving his accuser.

Isn't it times like these when we as a society should come together and right a wrong? What's done is done. The time is spent. This man's life changed forever. He deserves to get it back. I don't know his history, I don't even know if he was a good guy before he was wrongfully sent to jail. He seemed to me a gentle man, a kind man , a frightened man. He has no idea what the future holds. FOX-2 viewers are already trying to make the future better for him. He seemingly deserves it all. Job? Money? Car, heck, even Cardinals Tickets?...he's already "blessed" as he says that he's out of prison...now he needs his life back.

Watch his interview on FOX 2 News In The Morning HERE. 

Do you travel back and forth to and from Illinois and Missouri?? Would you pay a toll to cross over the bridge? Talk to me!

Just waned to let you all know of this great  FREE event in O'Fallon, MO this Monday Feb 12.    Boardwalk Dental is holding a Tooth Fair from 4-8pm.  Here are some of the Hilites...
February is Children's Dental Health Month
*FREE copies of my children's book:  "The Tooth Fairy Palace".  My daughter/co-author and myself will be there to sign them from 5-7pm.
*Free Toothprints Child ID system, Info on braces, cancer screening, Oral Hygiene, St. Charles Co. Sherrif's DARE officers, Face Painting, Balloons, Drawings, refreshments.
This is a great opportunity to teach your children about the importance of good dental habits and health.  We Hope to see you there!!
Here's the info:
Boardwalk Family Dental
7320 Village Center Drive
O'Fallon, MO
636-561-4117