S: is for the sun finally shining

We are all going through things that bring us down. This column was meant to spread hope. Today I am going to use myself as an example. Two Sunday's ago it seemed as if God waved his magic wand and turned me into Job. You know the guy in the bible who had hell rained upon him, because he believed. Now I have been a Job for a lot of my life, so this was like the straw that broke the camels back. My phone was stolen, my cat almost died, I almost lost my apartment, the checks to my work were lost in the mail, my computer was damaged but under warranty and the newspaper that I am working on was stuck, because everything I needed was in my phone or in my computer. I was seriously down on myself wondering what I had done to deserve this hell.

Realize, I said almost to a couple of things. My cat Kismet just ended up costing me $1,400.00, but what is that really in the years of love and comfort he has given me and money can always be made back. I'm still in my apartment. My checks, came through, finally. I got my phone back as well, though that too ended up costing $200.00. The computer, turned out to be another story. You see I bought it off craigslist and though I did everything right, I still became a victim. On Easter my cat and another cat were in my room and after that the internet portal did not work. I brought it to Apple because it was still under warranty. After 8 days I was told it had irreplaceable water damage and that wasn't covered. It would cost more to fix than the computer. I was furious because no liquid of any kind had been near that computer. I called Apple Corporate, to find out that a week before I bought it, someone took it to the Apple Store. They were told that it had damage and it was slowly going to corrode. To make matters worse the computer itself had been stolen. Now most people would crumble, but by this point, so much had happened, I got ragging mad. I had kept the e-mails sent by Rik who sold it to me, so I wrote him. Surprise, the e-mail no longer worked. However, he sold me the computer where he worked. Anyone who knows me, knows two things: 1: I am a great researcher and 2: I love Mexican Food. So I found the restaurant where he had sold me the computer, a little place called Suenos at 311 West 17th. Low and behold Rik still works there. I also had his phone number thanks to the email. I can't say yet if this story has a happy ending because Rik who has been at Suenos for years and who lied in his emails that the computer was 100% sound, seems not to want to take the easy way out even though he has committed grand larceny. Suenos who unwittingly became a party to the crime isn't taking responsibility but is planning on talking to their employee. Me, I plan on turning this into a win. Craigslist is the #1 story in the news right now. I am starting a major newspaper in the Times Square Theatre District next month. Hmmmm can you see where I'm going? Facts are important. Always keep records. Always fight for your rights and remember you can always turn the negative into a positive and this is called a using your brain F.A.C.T.