:) i just called him and he wasnt there, left a message, ill get a full report soon.
tw On Apr 7, 2005 3:27 PM, Jim Campbell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 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. > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Purchase Captivate from House of Fusion, a Macromedia Authorized Affiliate and support the CF community. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=52 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:153101 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=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
