Feeling grouchy

It's funny what 60 straight days of some sort of precipitation here will do. (For the record, some of that was rain.) We here in Western New York are starting to think that the sun is like Bigfoot -- much talked about but rarely seen.

In this case, sometimes we're forced to take out our grouchy feelings on other things -- like junk mail -- that would otherwise go unnoticed.

I received in the mail a form that sort of looked like a printed check. The return address was "Division of Revenue, Department of Funding." As if that told me a lot. Next to that were the words "Bailout" and "Form 2009." I knew enough to realize that this was not going to be a stimulus check from the government (darn!), in part because there's no such thing as a Division of Revenue and in part because the stimulus package hasn't been passed by Congress yet. (Hey, I read the paper.)

Curious, I folded and ripped along the perforations along the side, and was greeted by this message which was topped by the logos of US Airlines and Hyatt:

"Congratulations! Our accounting department shows that you have been awarded a complimentary 3-Day/2-Night Hyatt Get-a-way to many of the Hyatt properties located in the continental USA along with a $30 Dinner and a $50 gas offer!!"

After giving a phone number to call, there was word of a bonus for free airline tickets if I answered in 72 hours to "any major international airport anywhere in the continental U.S.!!!!" (Since Buffalo doesn't have flights to Canada any more, I guess that lets us out.) That part of the message was followed by the logos of Red Lobster and Olive Garden, for no obvious reason.

Inside the "envelope" was a sample hotel itinerary on the front of a piece of paper, while the back had the address of "Way to Go Travel" of Seattle, Washington.

Well, I did open it, which I guess was the idea, instead of tossing it directly into the recycle bin. I'm assuming this is one of those packages where you get wined and dined in an effort to buy some property, a timeshare or something else no one needs. I've gotten those offers in the mail before. That's fine, those guys have to make a living too. But wrapping up the offer to look like some sort of stimulus check seems particularly unseemly in these difficult economic times. Why go out of your way to annoy people, particular those who need money and/or might be sick of shoveling snow?

In other words, way to go, "Way to Go Travel."