Monthly Archives: September 2024

Style & Substance – Larrimor’s in Pittsburgh, PA

September 15, 2024 By in Style & Substance Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

Perhaps I am old-fashioned. When I offer my patronage to a business, especially for the very first time, it is always pleasant to receive an extra touch of appreciation in the form of good customer service. I have been hunting the market for a hybrid shoe in the form of a sneaker & monk strap. One extremely stylish pair garnered my attention some time ago, but the price-tag was too expensive for my wallet. Subsequent discoveries were also too pricey for my budget. And then the Johnston & Murphy Bolivar Monk Strap crossed my radar. An offering from their higher tiered J&M Collection, I patiently waited for a sale that would never arrive on a variety of websites. However, one day a Google search returned a suggestion for a business in Pittsburgh, PA called Larrimor’s. Now, I am sometimes suspicious of businesses on the Internet that are unknown to me. I performed a little Internet research that revealed it was indeed a legit business.

Much like other businesses that have an online presence, new customers can receive a discount code if they subscribe to receive special offers and the latest company notifications via email. And as fortune would have it, Larrimor’s had the J&M Bolivar Monk Strap in its inventory, and they had an offer for 15% off retail for new customers. And on this particular day, both shipping and sales tax were waived too. This deal was too good to ignore. Decisions were made and the acquisition was approved. So, all things calculated and considered, a $300 pair of shoes were reduced to approximately $233. It was my birthday – and I had been chasing a deal on these shoes for literally MONTHS – so I decided to treat myself. Sometimes I catch a sale too late, and then my size is no longer in stock. We have all been there gentlemen – dragging our feet on a sale way too many times with a disappointing conclusion.

So, my order was placed online on September 1st. To my surprise, I received a personal email from Jen (an eCommerce Manager) confirming the details of my order with an estimated delivery date of 5-6 business days. I received my order on September 9th. No, it was not Amazon lightning fast, but I am not from the generation of instant gratification. Sometimes patience is a virtue, and good things come to those that wait. And wow, these shoes are slick (pictures to come later). Inside the shoe box was a handwritten note from the Larrimor’s team and an additional offer for a 15% discount that will expire in 30 days. I truly appreciate the handwritten, personal thank you card. It is sadly a lost practice in an age of impersonal interactions between people. We are in a time where we definitely could use more of these kind gestures of appreciation. Now, the inventory on the Larrimor’s website isn’t as plentiful as larger, big brand chains. However, I am glad my Google search alerted me to their existence. I will definitely check them out going forward in the future.

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The Standard #61

September 8, 2024 By in Black Thought, Standard Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Mountain

To be sure, for individuals with a heightened degree of mental acuity, one can risk leaning too heavily into one’s intelligence, much to the detriment of reason and logic. Now, there are particular circumstances that occur in life that elicit such a passionate exercise. And trust, I wholeheartedly understand the passion that can be evoked toward an intimately held belief or idea. For certain, it is passion that propels purpose and progress. Nevertheless, absent restraint, passion can pervert principle. Passion can propagate pain. And passion can prop up perplexing political partitions. Sometimes, if you can humor me, some subject matter need not be overly thought and unnecessarily complicated. Some things are as simple as they present themselves.

However, some people possess an insatiable appetite to expertly weave arguments to either explain the unexplainable or ignore the explainable altogether. So, what you have is an intellectual exhibitionist ready to expose their intelligence for all to see, solely for the purpose of self-gratification and self-affirmation. It’s not that complicated. Sometimes the subject matter boils down to key core values: integrity, honesty, accountability, responsibility, dignity, and character. Because, for all the bluster and grandstanding, a reprobate ideology should not trump morality and ethics. Is this not what we demand of our children? It’s not that complicated. Believe me, I understand the disappointment and despair. However, those feelings can yield discontent and disillusionment. And in turn, we gravitate towards something we know in our soul is wrong.

Now, you may have read the following statement before here on this blog, but I believe it bears repeating, albeit with a remix. We can disagree without being disagreeable, however, common ground should not be so uncommon, as I truly believe it is achievable. Diatribes disguised as smart discourse are disingenuous and should be definitively dispelled. In this shared experience of life, we are called upon to select imperfect vessels to carry our hopes and beliefs to a preferred destination for a greater good. Sometimes the passage is rocky and turbulent. Sometimes we momentarily stray off course. And sometimes the destination is so far that the eye can barely see it. Alas, we dutifully stay the course. However, when we knowingly select a vessel fraught with moral dilapidation, and its integrity is compromised by ethical decay, the depths that we sink will be of our own choosing.