What's Your Opinion? Food Delivery Comparison: WALMART vs Target, Safeway etc... I Fired Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Email Me At gregvan[at]yahoo[dot]com

Amazon delivers in One Day free shipping if you buy $35 worth of Food. WALMART wants me to Join a Club for $12.95 a Month and I Get Free Shipping in One Day if I Buy $35 Worth of Food. No Thank You WALMART. You Better ROLL BACK Those Prices WAY BACK... WAY WAY BACK... Next I'll Check Out Costco - They want me to become a Member at $120 Per Year... I did that 20 Years ago but found that their BULK Portions were too large a quantity of food for a Two Person Home. But I'm always Grateful for Them Converting FILM Photographs to a Computer Disc. I did that in 2004 with my Rainbow Gathering Photographs... Some of the Best I've Ever Taken. WINCO Does Deliver but the Selection is Limited to 27 Items... None of them are the Right Items... I mostly want Cheese, Crackers, Beef Jerky, dried fruit and RAMEN...

I'm NO LONGER an Amazon Customen... IS THERE A BETTER PLACE TO ORDER DELIVERED FOOD? So Far Raleys Seems the Best Alternative to Amazon...

I'll have to Investigate Trader Joes and Safeway. 

I'm going to see if they deliver groceries... Now that I Fired Jeff Bezos and Amazon I'm looking for someone to ship Cheese and Crackers, Ramen... etc, etc, etc... Maybe Trader Joes... I also need to Check Out Safeway because when I used to Shop there they had an excellent selection of EXPENSIVE Cheeses... Especially the Blue Cheeses... 

I checked out Target: They want a $10 delivery Fee and a $2 Bag Fee... and Somehow I'm going to be Charged Tax... on FOOD? So at the Last Minute I Cancelled my order for Cheese and Crackers... They have a Good Selection of groceries... but they wanted me to authorize substitutions for out of stock items with a similar Item... Likely to be OK but...

I STOPPED shopping at Amazon because Jeff Bezos is Behaving Badly... Raising all prices on Everything... Not Paying his Income Taxes... Publishing his Totally Wrong Opinions Everywhere... I did Cancel my Amazon Prime Subscription. $16.15 a Month Even if I Don't Buy Anything... but Free Shipping if I Do Buy Something... Often It Saved me Money but other times it was NOT Worth It. 

"Amazon's CEO announced Thursday that the company would be raising prices to keep pace with inflation. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company will begin charging U.S. third-party sellers a 5% upcharge because of higher inflation and fuel costs, a hike expected to trickle down to consumers."

https://southernmarylandchronicle.com/2022/04/16/amazon-raises-prices-to-keep-up-with-inflation/

"For Musk and Bezos, it was the stimulus to help consumers at the time of the pandemic that caused the inflation. Basically, the responsible culprit for the surge of your recent grocery store receipts is the federal government."

https://www.thestreet.com/technology/musk-and-bezos-agree-on-who-is-responsible-for-inflation

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Drama Free Zone Buttons & Free Drama Zone Gear Too! by Zazzle gregvan

https://www.zazzle.com/store/gregvan/products?qs=drama

Zazzle gregvan

Drama Free Zone & Free Drama Zone Gear!

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and on a different subject: Biff Rose Tells the Tale of His Visit to Charles Manson In Prison...

Gregory Laan

I did not know that you visited Charles Manson... Probably an interesting Visit... I did like his TV SHOW "Charlie's Angels" - That was a Biography of the Manson Family but the Studio "Flipped the Script" in order to Get More Viewers..

Biff: Charlie's Angels..ha ha funny joke..I was going with Valerie the Queen of the MONKEES to see her ex when this bald headed girl with a X carved in her third eye came up to me "Biff it's ME..GYPSY.....

"Gypsy?" ( everyone was named Gypsy then.,,,,.it was the early seventies.)... "Cathy...Cathy Share...I was at your house...I'm in the FAMILY now..... you oughta go meet Charlie..he'd LOVE to meet you..he's the Son of Man you know get it? MAN...SON.."

"Oh yeah right...I remember you, Kathy..you were at my house the week Such a Holiday by the BeeGees was number one..."

Every week there was a new NUMBER ONE HIT...Winchester Cathedral...Mrs Brown you've got a lovely daughter....such a day for a day dream...

So Valerie Queen of the Monkees went to see her ex and I went thru this maze of elevators and small windows opening on hge steel doors and finally there we were face to face behond a glass drakly cuz the Prosecutor had said "Don't look him in the eyes..."

But I figured HE'S the one in jail......we "My brothered" each other cuz I tild him about my new album Uncle Jesus and AUNTIE Christ...and he said

"You know my brother if you wanna take your pants off in the street and somebody says you CAN'T....then what they say is evil..and BANG BANK...." he mock shot two people with his hand shaped like a pistol...

I thot "No my brother...I think somehow we have to INCORPOORATE evil in......our." and caught myself arguing with this murderer and soon we parted but as I walked away there was this vast feeling of great peace came over me.....bt it took a strange form...as tho....Manson's a shark....300 million years of evolution and still abrain the size of a pee..dolphins are so much more to my liking..but these words slowly formed in my pre-neo-hip hop-notized brain...ya know,Biff..you don't have a habit of killing people....you have a habit of NOT killing people and you know how hard it is to break habits..."

Valerie Queen of the Monkees was waiting for me outside the courthouse.....Valerie was Lithuanina and had taught e how to say "It's been a long time since I've seen you..."

"Osh ten eye sah vay neh mah chow.."

Squeaky Fromme came up to where she and the "Family" were camped in a van out by the curb..holding a constant vigil for their hero.....weaving a jacket out of human hair I think...".

She looked me in the eyes searchingly.."Biff do you REALLY understand the needs of women?"

I looked at Valerie beside me to my right and turned back to Squeaky and said bluntly, defiantly...defensively

"Osh te eye sah vay neh mah chow"

because I didn't wanna risk giving the wrong answer to a member of the Manson family.....but I would NOT allow Squeaky to come between what was between me and my Queen of the Monkees....the heteroAURAL bond that twined us....

and I Replied: Well... Thanks for the Story... amazing those times... I had a girlfriend that was Hitchiking in LA and got picked up by members of the Manson Family... and they asked her to Join... but she declined... close call!

Biff Said: yeah..in the earliest of the early days in Laurel Canyon Neil Young was a fan of charlie manson's music....

and I Replied: and It's Quite possible that they were Great Songs! More than One Great Artist, Author or Singer/Songwrighter has been a Freak! This song was Covered by Guns and Roses... In My Opinion it's Not a Great Song... Kinda Standard for That Time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncufspI_d60

I Said: My wife and I Planned to go to a Speech by Marshall Applewhite, founder of the Heaven's Gate Cult... But the City of San Jose Cancelled the Event at the Very Last Minute because many People Vanished at the Portland Event the Week Before... I guess they Joined and Didn't go home... and concerned people called the police to report missing persons... and when there were so many... they Police Called San Jose... to give 'em a Heads Up about the Danger...

It was a Free Talk about UFOs... Sure, That Sounds interesting...

The Great Pinapple on Pizza Debate... My Opinion: Put WhatEVER You Want on Pizza... I Just Don't Care... I Like Cheasapeake Bay Crab and Coctail Sauce/Regular Tomato Sauce Blend...

But First! My Opinions from 2001...

Retrieved from my Yahoo Geocities Website: Yosemite/Trails/6803...

Cardboard Cities of KALIfornia...as we roll into the year 2001 it seems sad to me that we are spiraling down into a third-world ghetto society...soon all that we can afford to live in will be cardboard boxes...

PG&E; recently stole about 10 BILLION dollars from KALIfornians... That theft alone will wreck our economy... (MORE ranting of a deranged lunatic below my lovely drawing)

We (the average schmoes) simply will not be spending any money on anything other than food and shelter... Nothing will be spent at arts and crafts stores... and so the arts and crafts stores will go out of business... nothing will be spent at record and tape stores... and so they will go out of business...ALL BUSINESSES THAT DEPEND ON VOLUNTARY SPENDING WILL FOLD... as an example...Fleetwood recreational vehicles just closed the factory here in chico...WHY?...because no one is buying recreational vehicles anymore...345 people got laid off...those people CERTAINLY do not have any money to spend on ANYTHING other than survival...WE will not be buying any jet-skis, home stereos, vcrs, computers, televisions, new cars...no going out to dinner at restaurants... AND...all the people that work in those businesses will be cutting back on THEIR spending too...THANKS PIGGY (PG&E)

and then on FaceBORG: The Ram Dass Group:

This group is a community in which we collectively share the loving teachings of Ram Dass, aka Richard Alpert. It is a hangout place for everyone who loves Ram Dass, his teachings and his life. We share our knowledge of, and experience with, these teachings. We support each other on this adventurous, wonderful journey of walking each other home. 

Does law of attraction and manifestation techniques really work?

You have to believe it 100% with no doubts, and it'll come to past. The universe will create paths for you and your intuition will take you there, you will take actions that'll take you there. And of course from the outside, they say you "took actions".

Do you believe you have to work hard to be rich? Or being rich takes time? Then you'll do that. I know plenty of people who became multimillionaires fast and in a short time, and also know plenty who worked hard for years

and I Responded: It's easy to notice that the opposite is true... if you seek disaster, it will find you... If you look for unhappiness... that's what you'll get! So why NOT seek beauty? and Good Times? I find walking in the Nountains is the Best... I live in California and there are Many Mountains with rivers of SUPER PURE Water to Drink and Swim In... Just to Give you a Hint... Try the Trinity River Between Redding and Eureka... Excellent!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUkQ0UMRlYA&t=209s

(1/8) Burning Man EFT Circle 2009

SE SAID:

I don't really understand this constant debate about whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza. Pizza restaurants in my area have always offered a Hawaiian pizza on their menu, even when I was a kid. A Hawaiian pizza is usually ham and pineapple, but sometimes it's Canadian bacon and pineapple. But every pizza restaurant offers a Hawaiian pizza, and it's nothing new, so it seems strange to me that it's only been in the last 3 or 4 years that I've seen this debate about whether or not it "belongs" on pizza. Maybe it's less common in other states?

The only thing I don't like about Hawaiian pizza is the ham. I'm not a fan of ham, and I typically prefer pizza without any meat at all, so I'm not likely to order the Hawaiian pizza for myself. But in situations where someone orders several pizzas to feed a large crowd, Hawaiian is usually one of the pizzas because many people love it. I actually like the combination of pepperoni and pineapple better than ham and pineapple. If you don't like Hawaiian pizza, that's fine, everyone has their preferences. But whether or not it "belongs" on the menu? That part is odd to me.

SH SAID:

The Hawaiian pizza in my hometown pizzeria also had banana on it. That never struck me as odd as a kid. It was my favourite. The sweet and salty together with the acid of the pineapple is good.

SE SAID: I don't think I've ever had crab on pizza, but it sure sounds good. I have had shrimp on pizza many times, and I love it. Lobster would be good too.

I Replied: I worked at Dominos in Maryland and there was a Fish Store next door... so we both donated and everyone ate...

MM SAID: I happen to like it. I’ve had dried mango slices with prosciutto and arugula on pizza so pineapple is not a stretch.

There are some Americans who put pineapple slices on a ham before baking it, and it adds a bit of tenderness and sweetness to the meat. So what’s the difference?

NL SAID: In SF people seem to be more liberal with pizza toppings. My favorite used to be a potato and pesto one. I'm like you. I usually only eat vegetarian pizza. Pineapple happens to be my favorite topping. I usually pair it with jalapenos and onions. But if I'm gonna go for the non veggie version, it's pineapple, jalapenos, onions and anchovies!

SE SAID: When I lived in L.A., I was really surprised that most pizza places did NOT have pesto pizza. Here in the Bay Area, pesto pizza has always been a thing. There are very few pizza places which DON'T offer it. I also remember when I went to New York City in '93 and again in '94, none of those wonderful New York pizza-by-the-slice places had pesto. But they all had spinach pizza, which surprised me for some reason. But it was SO GOOD. I prefer pizza with veggie toppings rather than meat, and I was surprised New York had so many veggie options. I would have assumed veggie pizza was more of a West Coast thing, but you never know. spinach on pizza is so good! They don't offer green olives on pizza in SoCal too and every place up north did. Green is so much better on pizza!

NL SAID: Eh, I can't stand any olives, green or black. It's the only food I hate. If olives end up on my pizza, I'm picking them off.

SE Replied:  too bad. I also remember that kalamata olives and feta goes great on pizza too.

I Said: Canadian Bacon is a Good addition to Pineapple Pizza... or Ham... 

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and at a Senator Jon Testor Virtual Town Hall I asked: "When will we Legalize Recreational Marijuana Nationwide? Tax it Regulate it. Free all the Cannabis Prisoners. Use the empty jail cells for a homeless shelter... Refund the Taxpaer Dollars Currently Wasted on Law Enforcement to the Taxpayers... Everybody WINS!"

Working at Domino's Pizza as a Delivery Driver in Fort Washington, Maryland and Mount Vernon, Virginia for five Years in the Late 1980s and Early 1990s...

One time when I was laid off from a Drafting Job, I was Loafing around the Condo in Oxon Hill, Maryland and Eating a Lot of Domino's Pizza. The Guy Delivering the Pizza offered me a Job as a Driver. When Unemployed, The Correct answer to that question is Yes... 

I worked there for 5 years at The Fort Washington Store run by a Black woman, Angela Powell. An Air Force Brat that Lived on Andrews Air Force Base with Her Sister and another Black Lady. There were other Store Managers... for example: Stosh, a Russian Immigrant. 

There was a Giant Map of our delivery area on the Wall so We Could Find the Exact Location we were driving TO. We wrote instructions about how to find houses that were tricky... For Example, Many Houses Had no House Numbers on them or some people wanted you to go around back and knock on the basement door... Because the Landlord Lived in the Upstairs House and they were renting out the basement. We had a Rule that the Pizza had to be Delivered within 30 Minutes or the Customer Got $3.00 Off. The Delivery area was designed so every home was within 20 Minutes of the Store. There were some areas in the Forbidden Zone... Places we would NOT deliver to because of the Danger from Armed Robbery. We Would meet those customers in front of the 7/11 on the corner... 

In General, it was a High Pay Job. We Got Minimum Wage, 18 cents per Mile and Tips. That added up to about $15.00 an Hour. What the flaw with this way of earning a living is... You Wear Out Your Car and Can't Work Anymore after it Breaks Down... The 18 cents a mile is supposed to pay for Gasoline and Repairs... But it Does not Pay for replacing the entire Car...  OR... If you get in a Car Wreck, You Can't Work Anymore because Your Car is wrecked... and you are Unemployed, in the Hospital and in General... F*CKED... All these UBER Drivers Nowadays are in the Same Boat. 

We had Two Armed Robberies When I Worked There. One Trouble with That Business is PILES OF CASH! Maybe $3,000 a Night. The Drivers were all given a Locked Box on the Wall of the Pizza Parlor for us to Drop any Extra Cash after a Delivery. Supposedly, We were Never to Have more than $20.00 in our pocket during a delivery... to make Change from a Cash Sale. Everything was Cash at that time... Late 1980s... No Cellphones, No GPS. 

One Night, When I was NOT There, A Man Came Up to the Front of the Pizza Parlor Waving a Pistol. The Manager Quickly Locked the Front Glass Door. The Robber Fired the Gun and the Glass VANISHED! into a Pile of Broken Glass on the Floor. The Robber asked for Money and the Manager Gave Him Everything in the Cash Register... Help Yourself! What the Robber Did not Know was the Vast Majority of the Cash was still in our individual lock boxes... SO, Obviously, The Robber was NOT a Former Employee... 

Another Night, The Manager took ALL the Money and Drove it to The Bank where he Planned to Put it in the Wall... a Masked Man with a Gun said... Give me that Bag... and Took Off... Every Night at about 3:00 AM the manager Drove the Deposit one Block to the Bank... That robbery was Probably Committed by a Former Employee... Because He Knew The System. 

On a delivery I Met a woman named Betty-Lou and She Moved Into my Condo and we lived together raising her daughter. She was an Obese White Woman with a Half Black Child. 

Eventually I quit that job due to Murders of Delivery Drivers at the Capitol Hill Pizza Parlor... I delivered in a suburb that is populated by Black Government Workers and other Black Professionals. We Did Have a Yacht Club. Many of the Homes Had Waterfront Access on the Potomac River. Vast Wealth. G Gordon Liddy (of Watergate Fame) Lived in Our Delivery Area but Always Came Into the Store to Pick up his Pizzas. We were all warned to Never Accidentally Get lost and Turn down the Long Driveway to His Home. 

On Most Mornings I Smoked Marijuana before Going to Work. I did win a Safe Driver Award. $500.00 for No Accidents, No Tickets... On Friday and Saturday Nights I Would Often Work 13 Hours... Lunch, Dinner and Past Midnight... 

After the first Murder I switched to delivering in Mount Vernon, Virginia and Fort Belvoir. A Safer (Whiter) Neighborhood. 

Delivering to the Secret Army base was interesting. On sunny days they enforced security protocol and I was not allowed into certain buildings. However, if it was snowing, the guards just ignored security because it was cold outside... I Delivered to The Barracks, The PX, The Base Hospital and the Majors Street... Fancy Houses for Majors... an Officer's Rank. 

That Delivery Area also Had The Mansion at Mount Vernon. I Delivered often to The Park Rangers at George Washington's Home. In that same neighborhood there were MANY Old Mansions... Built in the 1700s and Still Owned by the Same Families. I Delivered to the Culpepper Family... They Have a County Named for them... 

On another Occasion, I took my Mom and Dad to see Mount Vernon as a Tourist Trip and On the Way Back it started to Rain... That Area is in a Very Humid Climate and It Rained so Hard I Couldn't Drive my Car... so I Pulled off the Side of the Road and Waited Five Minutes... and the Rain Ended!

On Yet Another Occasion, My Brother Martin, His Wife Patti and Daughter Nicole came to visit and we went out for Pizza at a Restaurant on Connecticut Ave... It Had Outdoor Seating... and there was a Thunderstorm Nearby... This was the VERY FIRST TIME My Niece Nicole (age Eight) had Experienced Thunder... She Freaked Out but we Calmed her Down. She grew up in SoCal and they Just Don't Have Massive Tropical Rainstorms there... 

After the Second Murder of a Dominos Pizza Driver in Washington DC I drove to California... Crack Cocaine caused insanity among the residents and there was a lot of Gun Violence. I abandoned the Condo and the Mortgage company foreclosed.

My Dodge Omni Automobile Had No Brakes or Heater. If I wanted to Stop the Car, I Pulled up on the Parking Brake... I Also used Votive Candles to Warm the Car. Of Course, the Heat from the Engine did keep my feet warm even without the Fan Blowing... So I was Driving thru Tennessee and it was late at Night and Snowing so I Pulled into a Rest Stop and Lit a Candle and Went to Sleep. I Woke Up a Couple of Hours Later FREEZING... So I Drove on Down the Road to Heat up the Car... With 18 Wheelers Spraying Slush on my Windshield... Scary! and I Drove Coast to Coast... Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and Finally... California... The First thing I Did Coming Back to California After Living on the East Coast for 12 Years was... Buy a Carl's Jr. Star Hamburger... 

READ MORE of my Autobiography at:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

We Bought a Condo at 527 B1 Wilson Bridge Dr in Oxon Hill, Maryland ... one of the 500... On the Right as You Drive down #210 towards Indian Head... Couldn't sell it when I wanted to move... so, I simply refused to pay the Mortgage and forced Arlington Mortgage to foreclose... Let THEM lose more money on a Bad Investment. https://www.trulia.com/p/md/oxon-hill/527-wilson-bridge-dr-oxon-hill-md-20745--1005875498