Wendy Smith

I recently moved to a small community with a single entrance. At that entrance is a few small neighborhood retail shops which include a restaurant, a beer & wine store and a pet grooming store. The newest addition is an ice cream shoppe and the reason I sat down to write.

First let me say that I know nothing about the operations or running of an ice cream shoppe but my best guess would be that the ideal time to open an ice cream shoppe is not winter. Even in Florida, we have days that are just not ice cream type days. In any event, Mr Ahearn decided to open his ice cream store in December.

The ice cream store has all the favorites - soft serve ice cream perfect for dipping in hot chocolate syrup, popular cone flavors like rocky road, cookies n cream, you name it, he has it and what ice cream shoppe would be complete without home made sundaes and banana splits.

As you might imagine traffic to this shoppe full of ice cream goodies has been scarce. Passing by the shoppe a couple times each day I can't help but notice the empty parking in front of his store.

I always root for the little guy whether he or she is venturing out to start a business of their own or embarking on some journey to fulfill a dream. For Mr. Ahearn, this ice cream shoppe IS his dream.

The thing that sets Mr. Ahearn above the crowd is his determination for success. I first noticed Mr. Ahearn and his home made sign one Sunday afternoon; Mr. Ahearn was holding up his sign waving it at cars as they passed by on Alt 19 - his sign simply said OPEN. It made me reflect a few moments on commitment and how this man and his sign is a good example of commitment.

I've seen Mr. Ahearn and his sign frequently since that Sunday afternoon and one evening it was well past sundown when I saw Mr. Ahearn and his sign waving at the cars.

As a parent, I try to take note of real-life opportunities to help my teenager understand concepts such as commitment. Our society has become one of easy bail outs when things get tough and commitment has become just another 3 syllable word. So, as my daughter had lunch and discussed plans for college and moving out of the nest, we also talked about commitment and Mr. Ahearn for she too had noticed Mr. Ahearn and his sign.

When things get tough, and the road is not as easy as we hope it to be, we think of Mr. Ahearn. Sometimes failure is just not an option.

I just logged on to check out the new posts on ActiveRain.

I don't know if it's just the posts I've selected to read tonight or what but 3 out of the last 5 were advertisements for the poster's services. Metallic signs, Loan Mod leads, can't remember the other one.... Whatever it was it was just touting services or a product - nothing more than an advertisement.

Lately I've been receiving spam from Active Rainers emailing "advertisements" for their services. I don't appreciate that. If I am seeking any services, I know how to use the search button and will seek out whatever service I want.

ActiveRain is a great resource and a great place to network. I've enjoyed leads from Active Rain and I've learned a few things from other professionals. I also like to think that I've contributed informational posts and help to others.

I hope the real bloggers will continue to share information and out number the advertiser-bloggers.

Most of us are very diligent when it comes to guarding our social security number from anyone except those that absolutely must have it, we are careful to keep our private business very, well uh, private.

Of course we know that a lot of our personal information is a matter of public record.

We know that, we accept that.

But did you know that for as little as $2.95 - anybody can secure a report that contains all that personal information about YOU that happens to be a part of public records.

Think about it. Public records include driver's license, mortgages, divorce, marriage, where you live, criminal history, DOB, income information, and family information.

Visit www.intellius.com. This site collects information from a variety of sources which include utility bills, court records and the public information mentioned above.

Can you imagine the harm that can be done?

Customer service at Intellius advised that anyone may request to have their information removed from the site. Search your name, print the results. Circle the name(s) you want removed and supposedly the information will be removed from the site within a week.

I searched my name, my brothers, sisters - everyone was shocked at the results.

I tried to fax the pages to Intellius at the given fax number of 425-974-6194 but the fax wouldn't go thru. I sent hard copies of the pages via snail mail to their Bellevue, Washington address.

I WILL follow up.

I've shared this with friend and family and now Rainers - everyone thinks this should be "against the law" - but it's not.

Lots of un-sold homes dump into the rental pool as property owners struggle to make mortgage payments on vacant houses that didn't sell.

Many investors in our area have seen their cash flow eaten up with higher property taxes and insurance costs. These days if you can break-even on a rental, you're doing pretty good.

All too frequently I see the same name several times on the Lis Pendens list

- a sure sign that an investor is going down.

I've gotten used to that but what bothers me is that the tenants have little or no rights - all too often I encounter a tenant that has been paying rent but the property owner has not paid the mortgage payments. Fortunately, in this state, the occupant of a property is included in the service list. Most of the time, the serving of the summons is enough to send a tenant scrambling to move out.

What about tenants shopping for a home to rent?

I tried to put myself in the position of a tenant looking for a rental and thought of a couple of ways a tenant can avoid being caught in the crossfire of a foreclosure:

•1. Confirm there is equity in the property which is easily done via the public records or a Realtor friend. The thought being that the odds are that properties with equity are less likely to be foreclosed.

•2. Include a clause something to the effect that if the tenant is forced to move due to the Landlord not paying mortgage payments (or taxes), then the Landlord may be sued for the Tenant's moving expenses and damages. Such an agreement, if written correctly, would (should?) probably hold up in small claims court.

That's as far as I got. Not really sure how to protect the tenant but apparently there is nothing criminal about a Landlord that doesn't pay the mortgage payments while collecting rent (although most mortgages have a clause where the borrower is supposed to turn over all rents to the mortgagee)

Any input from Property Managers out there who have included language to protect tenant rights in rental agreements or leases?

The other day my 17 year old daughter came home from work looking like she had had a really rough day. When I asked about her day, she shared the following story:

A man, in his 30's or 40's, came in with a coupon for a free oil change. Problem was that the coupon expired about 4 months ago. When she pointed out the expiration date it seemed to trigger his rage. He demanded the coupon be honored and swore he had recently received it in the mail. My daughter, knowing that coupons are sent out only in the summer, stated that the coupon was simply no good. His ferocity then focused on belittling her, her abilities and even her potential for a successful future in life.

The scene naturally got the attention of the handful of other customers in the waiting room but they all just watched quietly as this grown man verbally assaulted my daughter.

Near tears and as the man continued to yell, she went to find the manager. The man actually sneered at my daughter as the manager ushered him out of the waiting area.

My daughter went to her car and cried.

As I listened to her relate the events it occurred to me that she really has no experience in dealing with mean people. Sure, she's encountered mean kids at school but they were peers - this was an adult. A figure she has been raised to treat with respect; and she was at work, where she had been trained to not argue with customers.

I wondered about the other adults in the waiting room, none of which got up to diffuse the situation - if I had been there, would I have gotten up?

I forgot to ask her if the man got a free oil change but I suspect he did.

There are people like him in the world who think nothing about attacking another person just to get a freebie or just to get their way. Mean people, selfish people.

The good news is that the majority of the people are not mean.

I guess maybe it's just another one of those lessons that every one has to learn: dealing with mean people but I know this much; if I ever witness an adult raging on a kid that's just trying to do his or her job - I will speak up.