Ask him if he can send me some of those $2 bills. I want to head out to Taco Bell again one of these days...
- Jim Tony Weeg wrote: >OHH MY EFFIN GOD!!! > >thats a friend of mine... i did his website like 7 years ago... > >he is a RIOT, one of the FUNNIEST HUMANS ive met. > >HAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!! > >ill have to call him today!!!! > >:) tw > >On Apr 7, 2005 2:58 PM, Howie Hamlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >>PUT YOURSELF in Mike Bolesta's place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a >>new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher's car. He pays the >>$114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last >>observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States >>proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta's idea of payment, and his little comic >>protest, too. >> >>For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of >>Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest. >> >>Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York >>Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons. >> >>Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, >>where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service >>is called into the case. >> >>Have a nice day, Mike. >> >>"Humiliating," the 57-year old Bolesta was saying now. "I am 6 feet 5 inches >>tall, and I felt like 8 inches high. To be handcuffed, to have all those >>people looking on, to be cuffed to a pole -- and to know you haven't done >>anything wrong. And me, with a brother, Joe, who spent 33 years on the city >>police force. It was humiliating." >> >>What we have here, besides humiliation, is a sense of caution resulting in >>screw-ups all around. >> >>"When I bought the stereo player," Bolesta explains, "the technician said >>it'd fit perfectly into my son's dashboard. But it didn't. So they called >>back and said they had another model that would fit perfectly, and it was >>cheaper. We got a $67 refund, which was fine. As long as it fit, that's all. >> >>"So we go back and pay for it, and they tell us to go around front with our >>receipt and pick up the difference in the cost. I ask about installation >>charges. They said, 'No installation charge, because of the mix-up. Our >>mistake, no charge.' Swell. >> >>"But then, the next day, I get a call at home. They're telling me, 'If you >>don't come in and pay the installation fee, we're calling the police.' Jeez, >>where did we go from them admitting a mistake to suddenly calling the police? >>So I say, 'Fine, I'll be in tomorrow.' But, overnight, I'm starting to steam >>a little. It's not the money -- it's the threat. So I thought, I'll count out >>a few $2 bills." >> >>He has lots and lots of them. >> >>With his Capital City Student Tours, he arranges class trips for school kids >>around the country traveling to large East Coast cities, including Baltimore. >>He's been doing this for the last 18 years. He makes all the arrangements: >>hotels, meals, entertainment. And it's part of his schtick that, when Bolesta >>hands out meal money to students, he does it in $2 bills, which he picks up >>from his regular bank, Sun Trust. >> >>"The kids don't see that many $2 bills, so they think this is the greatest >>thing in the world," Bolesta says. "They don't want to spend 'em. They want >>to save 'em. I've been doing this since I started the company. So I'm >>thinking, 'I'll stage my little comic protest. I'll pay the $114 with $2 >>bills.'" >> >>At Best Buy, they may have perceived the protest -- but did not sense the >>comic aspect of 57 $2 bills. >> >>"I'm just here to pay the bill," Bolesta says he told a cashier. "She looked >>at the $2 bills and told me, 'I don't have to take these if I don't want to.' >>I said, 'If you don't, I'm leaving. I've tried to pay my bill twice. You >>don't want these bills, you can sue me.' So she took the money. Like she's >>doing me a favor." >> >>He remembers the cashier marking each bill with a pen. Then other store >>personnel began to gather, a few of them asking, "Are these real?" >> >>"Of course they are," Bolesta said. "They're legal tender." >> >>A Best Buy manager refused comment last week. But, according to a Baltimore >>County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed >>some smearing of ink. So the cops were called in. One officer noticed the >>bills ran in sequential order. >> >>"I told them, 'I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get >>them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank,'" Bolesta says. "I'm >>sitting there in a chair. The store's full of people watching this. All of a >>sudden, he's standing me up and handcuffing me behind my back, telling me, >>'We have to do this until we get it straightened out.' >> >>"Meanwhile, everybody's looking at me. I've lived here 18 years. I'm hoping >>my kids don't walk in and see this. And I'm saying, 'I can't believe you're >>doing this. I'm paying with legal American money.'" >> >>Bolesta was then taken to the county police lockup in Cockeysville, where he >>sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called >>in. >> >>"At this point," he says, "I'm a mass murderer." >> >>Finally, Secret Service agent Leigh Turner arrived, examined the bills and >>said they were legitimate, adding, according to the police report, "Sometimes >>ink on money can smear." >> >>This will be important news to all concerned. >> >>For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that >>we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world." >> >>The other day, one of Bolesta's sons needed a few bucks. Bolesta pulled out >>his wallet and "whipped out a couple of $2 bills. But my son turned away. He >>said he doesn't want 'em any more." >> >>He's seen where such money can lead. >> >> >> >> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:153091 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
