Children and Their Imaginary Friends

A friend was telling me a little story about one of their children who seems to have developed an imaginary friend. I have heard many stories similar to his and have always heard that it is a common thing for a child to create an imaginary friend but I have never had an imaginary friend nor have I known anyone else who did when I was growing up.

Some children get really into the 'imaginary friend' thing. Their friend has to have a place to sit at dinner or in front of the TV. They have very involved conversations with their friend and relay messages, thoughts, requests and ideas from their imaginary friend to their parents.

I have often wondered about the possibility that a child's imaginary friend might be some sort of spiritual creature like a ghost or even a demon or maybe some other interdimensional entity. I don't know, but it is difficult to accept that all cases are no more than a child's imagination.

There have been cases where a child told their parents things about the past that they couldn't possibly have known on their own. They claimed to have been told these things by their friend who no one else seems to hear or see.

What could explain all this? Yes, I am sure that in many cases an imaginary friend is nothing more than that and in many of these the child does realize they are playing pretend. But there are those exceptional cases where there seems to be so much more than meets the eye.

What do you think? Is it possible that an imaginary friend could be a ghost or some sort of spirit? Have you or anyone you know ever had an imaginary friend they truly believed was real and alive?

More Pages About Imaginary Friends

Imaginary Friend or Ghost? A huge collection of Imaginary Friend stories and experiences and an examination of the question Imaginary Friend or Ghost?

Imaginary Friend Wikipedia Imaginary friends are fictional characters created for improvisational role-playing. They often have elaborate personalities and behaviors. They seem real but are ultimately unreal to their creators, as shown by studies.

HughesNet Satellite Internet Complaints

HughesNet aims its advertising campaigns at people who are unable to get cable or DSL. Life out in the country is great but there are many places where folks just can't get DSL or cable. The only alternatives are dial-up or satellite, meaning that satellite is the only choice if you really need to use your Internet connection.

Notice that HughesNet doesn't say "We are better than DSL or cable!" or "The best high-speed you can get!" No, they say "Don't settle for dial-up, get your net via satellite!"

If you have any choice at all avoid satellite internet. Read about the complaints and problems with HughesNet customer service. Remember, and this is the scary part, HughesNet IS THE SATELLITE PROVIDER. All others are 'middle men' and lease service from HughesNet satellites.

"When you call them up on the phone you will get someone in another country who can barely even speak English. You have to repeat what you are trying to say over and over and they usually still cant understand. I can barely understand what they are saying either. I have went to the Hughesnet website and contacted them with my complaints several different times – but not once have they ever replied back!" - Unhappy Customer with no choice Hughesnet is a Terrible Company with Terrible Service

"My main gripe with HughesNet is their over subscribing. When we move out to the country and got this service Apr of 2010, I knew from the get-go that it was going to a far cry different experience from the Comcast internet service we had when we lived in town. But I said, hey 1.5 Mbps shouldn’t be all that bad. I regularly perform speed test. We never even get anywhere near that speed. Just before typing this I checked and it was 55.25 KBps. The best we’ve ever gotten is 225 KBps." - b1lancer

Lies in Advertising are the Norm with McDonalds et al

I pulled into the local Mickie D's to get myself a sandwich
As I gazed hungrily at the menu I placed my order
I opened the wrappings to find a crooked sandwich
Pickles and mustard all on one side and cheese on the other
One lonely thin leaf of lettuce and a slight sliver of tomato

Why are companies permitted to lie in their advertising? Sometimes I think it is funny, other times it just makes me mad but one thing for sure – I am really getting tired of all the lies being blasted out at us by marketers and ad agencies.

And what about restaurants? Have you ever gotten a sandwich or plate of food from a restaurant that looked anything at all like the picture on the menu? I have not. In fact the actual sandwich barely even resembles the ‘doctored up’ photo they display. It doesn’t matter if you go to a fast food joint like McDonalds or Burger King or a fancier place. They have these pictures advertising their food yet the food looks very little like the photos! Can anyone tell me why they are allowed to do this?

Maybe someone should create a website specifically for this. I can see it now. Here is the photo that they present to sell you on that sandwich and here is a photo of the actual sandwich! Any similarities? Very little if any at all!

Places like McDonald’s are bold faced liars and we need to stand up and tell it like it is. If I were to try the same thing with selling cars, or a house or nearly anything other than food could I get by with it? Would I be permitted to show you a picture or a model of a house or car, sell it to you, then give you something completely different? No! People would be outraged and law suits would be filed. But when it comes to restaurants all bets are off and lies seem to be acceptable.

The next time you order food at a restaurant why not ask for a manager and ask them why your food doesn’t resemble the picture on the menu. Why not ask them if they think it’s acceptable to lie so blatantly to their customers?

In the words of Neil Young “You pay for this but they give you that”.

According to the corporate website McDonald's wants every customer to have a great experience every time they visit. You can submit your feedback be it negative or positive -
http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/contact_us/restaurant_feedback.html

Of course this isn't limited to McDonald's. It includes, I am guessing, a very high percentage of fast food type places as well as many other restaurants. Next time you go to one of the higher priced "sit down" places note whether or not your food looks like the promo materials.

I do not expect my sandwich to look exactly like the picture in that every seed and every piece of lettuce is in the same place, but I do expect there to be a close resemblance and especially to the quantity and quality.

When you have a problem with the food you order let them know about it. Ask for a manager and tell them what you think and what you want. If you don't want to be confrontational you can wait until you get home and call back. Almost no one complains or informs management, most people just "go on".

Many Cops Routinely Break the Law

Last month I wrote about a problem with the law - Arrested and Forced to Pay Up Again - where I was actually arrested for a fine that I had already paid years ago. Here is a bit of an update about how it went when I appeared in court.

After I paid the fine for the second time the judge told me I was free to leave. I turned around and started to walk out of the area and realized that I hadn't gotten any sort of receipt. I turned back around and walked back up toward the judges bench and said that I would like a receipt. I told her that I didn't want to go through the same thing again or get arrested on my way home. They were all taken aback and acted as though it was quite a strange thing for someone to request a receipt! At first the judge didn't know what to do but then she had them photocopy some form which she signed.

I said, "I'm not going to try to take up any of your time your honor but while I am waiting for that receipt I want to say a few things." I told her about how the police officer was going at 73 mph in a 55 mph zone while taking me to jail and how he had left my wife and kids sitting by the Interstate out in the middle of nowhere. I told her that I really felt the entire thing was completely unfair and that we all saw cops speeding and breaking traffic laws often. She said I was wrong and that cops didn't speed or break any traffic laws unless they were on an emergency and perhaps off to save a life. I disagreed. I told her (loud enough for all in the courtroom to hear) that we had all seen it many times. Police officers routinely run red lights and stop signs, they fail to give turn signals, they pull out in front of you, they tail gate and they exceed the speed limit.

Not too long ago I was coming home late one night, just going up a country road with my wife and children. In the rear-view mirror I saw a set of very bright headlights coming up fast. It was foggy and the road was very curvy so even 55 mph (the posted speed limit) was a little too fast. Anyway, the car in the rear-view closed in on us and soon they were right on my bumper! I was starting to get a bit angry because this was definitely unsafe and that driver was risking the life and safety of me and my family. I kept easing off the gas pedal slowing down gradually until I was doing about 25 mph. The driver behind me then flashed on his blue lights, it was a Kentucky State Trooper! He asked for license and insurance and then told us to be careful.

I know there are some good cops out there and over the years I have met a few of them. But when people like me drive around and we see law enforcement breaking laws and endangering the lives of others for no reason it really makes us angry!