Grandparents, beware of this scam!
Labor law doesn't require employers to pay bonuses, but when they promise to do so, they have to make good on that promise. Credit: iStock
Grandparents beware! I received a phone call from a crying young man. He claimed to be my grandson and said that he was in jail, charged with possession of drugs.
He didn't say his name but introduced himself as "your favorite grandson." He sounded like one of my grandsons, so I replied, "What's the matter?" and I used his first name.
I just made my first mistake. I gave a name before this young man could make a wrong guess. The short version of the story is, I had to send cash for bail immediately, and he said it would be returned on the day of his court appearance.
My "grandson" also pleaded with me not to tell his parents. He was crying, and I wanted to help him. After all, I thought, he's my grandson. This young man had a fast-talking "lawyer" who gave all the directions for posting bail. It must be cash, it must go to an overseas bail bondsman to expedite matters.
I followed the instructions and when the $2,500 was received via Western Union, the so-called lawyer then claimed that the judge thought that my "grandson" was getting off too easily and now they needed $2,100 more.
Now, I smelled a rat and called my grandson's parents. Of course, he was safe and sound at home. If I hadn't volunteered his name in the first place, I would be $2,500 richer.
I never thought of myself as being gullible, but when you believe that family is in trouble, you think with your heart instead of your head.
I hope that by confessing to being a sucker, I can spare some other loving grandparent this heartache. Bottom line is my grandson was not in jail!
--Kate Patwell, West Islip
Longing for the clean old day
Should we blame it on the media? Is it their fault? All news is so hyped these days that the necessity for coming up with a new angle in presenting information to the public is apparently paramount. This seems especially true in the entertainment and fashion industries. Even sports figures aren't exempt.
Outlandish costumes, over-the -top makeup and ever-changing hairstyles rule the runways. Gone are the days when Perry Como perched on a high stool and sang a soulful ballad. And Frank Sinatra only had to use his microphone as a prop. Tim Conway and Carol Burnett could elicit more belly laughs with a few facial changes than any foul-mouthed comedian popular today.
That's why it was so refreshing to see Nick Jonas being interviewed recently before his Broadway appearance in "How to Succeed." There he was, a young man with "boy-next-door" appeal, sitting on a stool, smiling graciously and calmly contributing to the conversation.
Open-necked white shirt under a simple blazer and knife-creased slacks were all the attire he needed to make his young audience swoon. No bleeped words, no revolting revelations about his life. Just a nice, seemingly average guy.
Jonas spoke about his diabetes in such a rational way that he exhibited all the qualities needed to be an eloquent spokesman for the disease.
And in Eli Manning we have Nick's counterpart in the sports arena. Manning even looks like a nice guy. He seems to know instinctively that he has a particular role to play in life and goes about doing it with no fanfare on his part. Of course, the media take care of the fanfare.
At times it must drive the football hero to distraction, but he always manages to take it in stride. He must have been exhausted after the Super Bowl and admittedly he'd have preferred to be with his teammates. But he was committed to go to Disney World. So he went.
It's so refreshing to watch a performer or sports figure who doesn't feel a need to shock the audience in some outrageous manner. And in our current "need to know" society, if these guys do have a much darker side, I really don't need to know. I'd like to keep some of my illusions intact.
--Carol Strub, Huntington
