For those who aren't wild about Little Richard, here is an alternative description of my experiences.  On July 21, I was ready to place an order for olive oil with Calio Groves.  Amy was out of olive oil and her preferred brand is Olio Santo.  I did not place the order, however, because shipping rates were not posted and because it did not appear that they would be listed before an order was finalized.  So, I sent Trish an email asking about shipping charges:

Hi Trish,

I was all set to order a bottle or two of Olio Santo olive oil, however, I could not find any information about shipping charges, shipping options, expected delivery time, and whether the item is in stock. Could you help me out.  What is the shipping charge for one bottle?  For two bottles?  Do you carry the huge bottle (or is the 17 oz size the huge one?).  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bruce D. Weinberg

I did not hear back from Trish until today -- 48 days later.  Her email read:

Is this the correct e-mail address for Bruce Weinberg?

Trish (last name withheld)
Calio Groves
800-865-4836

I was actually delighted to finally get a reply; this reaction surprised me.  I guess much of the negative affect that can at times be associated with that Noosie feeling had warn off and I found it pleasantly surprising that I actually got a reply after waiting for nearly two months.  I believe that part of my delight was that I would actually be able to follow through with ordering Olio Santo directly from the source -- Calio Groves manufactures and crushes the olives that are sold under the brand name of Olio Santo.  I doubt many people know that; it strikes me as cool.  Well, I replied to Trish:

Trish,

Yes, you replied, hallelujah.  This will work for a little while longer; For future reference please use celtics@ecommerceandmarketing.com.  My
home number is (number withheld).

Bruce

Then, later in the day, I called her using the toll free number.  Trish was very pleasant and she told me that, somehow, my email -- as well as emails from about 45 others -- was somehow misplaced in her mailbox and that she just discovered it today (or yesterday, I don't recall precisely).  She was not sure what kind of computer glitch occurred, but something happened with her computer system.

Anyway, I learned that the Caliogroves.com shipping charge is the actual UPS ground price, plus $2.50 to cover the cost of the box and protective packaging material.  In addition, she told me that Caliogroves.com does not sell the larger 750ml bottle of Olio Santo olive oil as Williams-Sonoma has an exclusive on that size (online only I believe?).  Funny, as it was Williams-Sonoma online customer service's inability to tell me what size bottle of olive oil that they sold in the first place which motivated me to search for another online source for Olio Santo olive oil -- this is what led me to find Calio Groves (and, by the way, Williams-Sonoma never did get back to me about the size that they sell -- this inquiry was also made on July 21 -- so, I believe that they have certainly earned a Noosie as well.).  Small world, indeed.  (Caliogroves.com also prices their products so that the final transaction price is about the same as it would be from a retailer.)

Trish and I also talked about some of Calio Groves' other products and I believe that I will place an order for not only Olio Santo olive oil, but also some other olive oil that they produce.  Am I going soft in my old age?  Am I crazy to order more than was originally planned from a newly minted recipient of a Noosie?  Does anybody here know the true meaning of a Noosie? (with all due respect to Linus and Charles Schulz)

Hey, these problems do occur and hence, the Noosie.  Still, Trish was very pleasant over the phone and she made me feel good again about ordering from Calio Groves.  If that darn technology had not mangled an exchange between two humans, everything would have been fine -- say what?  This is blasphemy.  I'd say that this was a case when the human was able to bail out the technology; they'll surprise you ever now and then in the customer service arena.

I did not have time to place an order for olive oil tonight as I had a Homeruns order to place and I wanted to prepare for my Thursday classes; when my students are happy, I am happy.

I just discovered the charcoal chimney starter from Amazon.com in the front hallway; it must have been delivered yesterday.
 

Luis Castillo RBI Watch (Through September 6, 2000)

Number of Hits......Batting Average......Number of RBI......Runs Scored
......159.......................349............................13........................87

Luis went 0-3 as the Marlins got trounced by the Astros 13-5.  Luis leadoff the first inning by striking out; in the third inning, with two outs and a man on first, he walked.  In the fifth inning with one out and no on base, he grounded out to the shortstop.  Luis struck out in the seventh inning with no one on base and no outs..  (These data are from ESPN.com)