Vivian Greene

Kisses™ and Volkswagen To The Rescue!

“Can a Kisses™ or Volkswagen initiative save Dade County Water & Sewer?”
asks Vivian Greene pictured at a Warner Bros Display
International Licensing Show, NY.

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I wonder if an initiative of Volkswagen could help me solve my problem with Dade County Water & Sewer?

Cram the entire Customer Service into a VW? No, not exactly.

But VW reminds me of what has created my success all along. And maybe…maybe…it would work with Miami Dade Water & Sewer.

You see they keep billing me hundreds of dollars for a leak they claim I had last year. I never had a leak. At least, that’s what the plumber and their own experts who kept coming out to my house said after I called the mayor in desperation.

I mean…I use purified water, and I can shower at the local Spa, but I do prefer a toilet to kitty litter.

When I paid a monthly $100 which I agreed to do while we explore the problem, they came to turn off my water anyway. They claimed they had not received my $100 good will payment. Funny. They cashed the check.

The nice Mayor’s office got DCWS to change the meter. Then DCWS said, I still owed more money. Thanks for fixing the leak.

There was no leak. I didn’t fix anything. They turned off my water again last Thursday.

Maybe Volkswagen can help me. God knows, I need a car too. And the message of the Volkswagen initiative and mine are just about the same.

The VW initiative is about FUN. They’ve shown that FUN can change people’s behavior. They must not be having enough fun at Dade County Water and Sewer. I must think of something and save them.

Truth In Lending came to my rescue. They paid the alleged Water bill. The water was turned back on late Friday afternoon.

Are we having FUN yet?

No. Now DCWS wants another $160 by December 7 for “penalties.”

Goodness, they must not have any fun working at DCWS at all. They should learn a thing or two from Volkswagen.

VW has shown that FUN changes the behavior. If you haven’t seen Piano Stairs yet…take a quick peek at this:

So what next? How can I get to Dade County Water & Sewer and make their life more fun so they have better things to do than this silly (and costly) stuff? Do I go dance on John Renfrow’s desk? I think he should personally answer my letter. Maybe I should send it daily – hundreds of copies:

Why is DCWS so anxious to go to court? I’ve tried so hard to avoid this. Let’s face it, Miami Vice has more demanding problems than my toilet.

But if I must go to court, and pay $700/hr, I’m still going to ask the judge to order DCWS to have more fun. They must be suffering from LackofFunitis.

That must be the problem. Because there is no leak. Because there is no reason to be this inefficient. Because there is no censured censured censured. Imagine how many people Dade County Water and Sewer have offended. Stress is toxic. You give it out, you breath it in.

I’d like to save Dade County Water and Sewer. I’d like all the money this has cost me back so I can share some fun and steward the money for good, like I do with all my work at www.VivianGreene.com. I’d like to see a world full of Volkswagen drivers with flowers on their cars.

Everyone should have more fun. Dance, eat, drink, and remarry (renew vows or new partner or new water meter). Like my book says: Just Get Up And Dance!

What a court order! Give Dade County Water and Sewer a sentence of 30 minutes a day to dance Disco con Salsa.

Maybe Gloria Estefan, or KC (he lives in my neighborhood) can help me? Volkswagen has the right idea. And as Marie McDonnell from Truth In Lending said, “The city has it wrong.”

As I always say, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

My thanks to Volkswagen for their shining example. I hope Kisses™ can save Dade County Water and Sewer.

Kisses® are drawn with their eyes covered because
“All that is real is seen with the heart.”

Kisses™ and Volkswagen To The Rescue!

Vivian Greene
Invest In Love inc
“All that is real is seen with the heart.”

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© 2009 – 2011, Vivian Greene. All rights reserved.

You teach best what you most need to learn.

How many people are forced to flush money down the toilet? Does the Gov just shove things down our throat? An email slapped me in the face today.

The list that was sent to me by a 72 year old man and his 100 year old mother – both VERY alert — is really thought provoking. I haven’t been around as long. Nothing speaks like experience. So even though I don’t like what it says, I cannot ignore it.

I’ve removed the bitter comment that surrounded the email – blame, name calling, etc – because to me that is not an effective way to solve a problem. Yet the list is worthy of our attention. How would you respond?

I was thinking of my blog post Beware of Bankers and Skunks. The banks are big and corrupt. The people who work there have little authority and are under the same victimization we are. So who is the boss? Who do we hold accountable?

Well….I guess ourselves. Because the government is “we the people.” So what are WE THE PEOPLE doing about it?

I’m the author of LEGAL LEMONADE, Should I Sue Or Is There A Better Way? I especially asked myself this question today.

Dade County Water & Sewer shut off my water, even though I have kept my agreement and paid them monthly for the last 10 months for an alleged leak that never existed. I’ve paid more than a thousand dollars to the Water Company, and more to plumbers, et al. I had help from the mayors office. A new meter was installed. No leak. So DCWS insisted I fixed the leak. They said “Pay and go to arbitration — but no one ever wins.” Talk about Money Down The Toilet! This is our government telling me to go sue myself.

Now I have to admit, I know a lot of government officials. Calling on them because I cannot flush my toilet doesn’t seem like the highest and best good for all of us.

But at this point I did have to call someone for my health, sanity, and the environment. Just what am I supposed to do if i cannot flush a toilet, and I cannot lift a gallon jug of water because I am recovering from an accident? I mean …what?…kitty litter?

Of course, I had to ask myself, Why. Why is this happening? Why me? And then the magic happened.

In the book Illusions by Richard Bach, he said,
‘ “You teach best what you most need to learn.” ‘

I did get help. It was not from DCWS. An advocate, Marie McDonnell from Truth in Lending took 5 seconds to ask “Where do I send the money? This is a legitimate issue and the city has it wrong.”

I learned something very valuable. The help is “we the people.” We simply must help each other. Truth in Lending clicked the Donate button on my site. My water was turned back on at 3:30.

I missed four appointments today. Critical ones for my health and business. I had to be home from 2 to 4 for DCWS. No one knocked when they turned the water off or on. I was told I am expected to pay another $128 in penalties – interest and the charges for turning my water off Dec 7th. The help will continue to pour in – because in the end it will help so many.

Who knows? Maybe there is one clerk, or computer glitch, or …elected official who has made this error that has caused so many problems. The water turned on, and this email arrived by someone infuriated with the government.

What can we do to help? Help each other.

a.. The US Post Service was established in 1775.
You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.

b.. Social Security was established in 1935.
You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.

c.. Fannie Mae was established in 1938.
You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.

d.. War on Poverty started in 1964.
You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of
our money is confiscated each year and transferred
to “the poor” and they only want more.

e.. Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965.
You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.

f.. Freddie Mac was established in 1970.
You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.

g.. The Department of Energy was created in 1977
to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned
to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year
and we import more oil than ever before. You had 32 years
to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

And now we are expected to trust you with a Government-Run Health Care System??

The emailer wanted this circulated to reach “duly elected officials.” Do we really want to continue flushing Money Down The Toilet?

Vivian Greene
Invest In Love inc
“All that is real is seen with the heart.”

© 2009 – 2011, Vivian Greene. All rights reserved.

Beware of Bankers and Skunks

“Beware of Bankers and Skunks” arrived in a list of Wisdom Sayings in my email this morning. I love these others from the list:

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

I checked the Internet to see just who wrote this. I’ve been labeled “Anonymous” myself and I wanted to give proper credit. I also wanted to make sure nobody thought I wrote “Beware of Bankers and Skunks.”

You see, we must not confuse the Banks, notorious banks, with the people who work there.

You know, it would be like having your favorite glass of wine in a 5 Star restaurant, and then tasting your garlic smashed potatoes and discovering the truffles were really glazed cock roaches.

No doubt if you explain you didn’t order cock roaches, or you don’t like cock roaches, the restaurant will take them off the bill, not that they were on the bill because you ordered from the Prix Frixe menu (one price, price fixed)

If you yell and scream at the waiter, he might cry, or get upset, or even get fired. And what does he have to do with the cockroaches? He doesn’t order or check the food, or prepare it. He is not the chef, or the boss. He is just an underpaid waiter in an uncomfortable tuxedo.

I really feel sorry for people who work at banks. It must be worse than being a waiter or dentist.

I was asked to be the key note speaker at the National Dental Convention when it was held in Honolulu one year. At first, I thought they had me confused with Anonymous again.

I create a comic strip called Kisses™ and I write books. My speaking engagements are about Prosperity, How To Sell Words & Pictures, How To Lose A Million Dollars (I am no longer the expert with this one, but it was a good run since Hurricane Andrew in 92), Just Get Up And Dance and Love, Sex, and Money.

Just what did any of that have to do with the National Dental Convention?

I was informed that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession. People are afraid of them. People hate to go see them.  So anything I spoke about would be uplifting.

Now, consider that wisdom quote: Beware of Bankers and Skunks. Who loves their bank today? Who’s happy with their interest payments, the accuracy of their credit card bills,  the climbing interest rates, the mortgages (forgive the obscenity) the overdraft charges on top of overdraft charges. You could be one dollar over drawn and pay hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees.

The banker may want to help you. The poor soul probably has been in your shoes. He may be sleeping in his car because the bank doesn’t pay that well and his house is in foreclosure. But he can’t help you. The bankers job is to pass the buck.

He does not  have the authority to pee.

So be compassionate. And if you really want to piss off the right party, like charity — it begins at home. Go home. Do not do business with banks that give you problems. Tootaloo. That’s it!

If they promised to give you an interest free credit card, and then charge you 21% interest because they claim your payment was late, and that’s not true, drop them. And only pay what you really owe when you want to pay it. Turn them over before they have a chance to damage your credit score. Write a letter to the bank (certified), the  regulatory agencies. There’s all kinds of things we can do. We the people change the system.

Maybe the wisdom is not Beware of Bankers and Skunks, but be aware that the banking industry today stinks, and we need to clean it up beginning with our own personal accounts.

Go ahead, be a little naughty, like this:

Vivian Greene
Invest In Love inc
“All that is real is seen with the heart.”

© 2009 – 2011, Vivian Greene. All rights reserved.