One Of Our 50 Is Missing - July 2009
After more than two decades, thousands of our readers have shared their experiences of lost New Mexico in the "One of Our 50 is Missing" humor column, compiled by managing editor Walter K. Lopez. Tell us your experiences at fifty@nmmagazine.com or on our message board.
GETTING TERRITORIAL: After experiencing some trouble online while placing an order with Victoria’s Secret, Crystal Densmore, of Los Alamos, called the company directly. What followed was truly aggravating.
“I called because I was supposed to get free shipping, but I couldn’t get the promotion code to work online,” Densmore says. “We were going over my order and the rep asked for my address.”
When Densmore said that she lived in New Mexico, the rep’s
response was off the wall. “Is that, like, some U.S. territory or something? Because we don’t do free shipping outside the country.”
Initially stunned, Densmore couldn’t contain her laughter. “Actually, New Mexico is a state here in the United States.” Densmore said the rep seemed a bit embarrassed before replying, “Um, yeah. That’s what I meant.”
THE PRICE IS WRONG: Jack Schweitzer, a partner in an Atlanta manufacturing firm who lives full-time in Eagle Nest, says a business relationship with AT&T recently took a quirky turn. According to Schweitzer, AT&T seems to think that New Mexico has seceded from the United States.
“My business partner in Atlanta placed a frantic call to me and wondered where I had been traveling, since my phone bill reflected $1,676.17 in international calls for the month,” Schweitzer says. When he reviewed the invoice, it became apparent that the calls placed between Atlanta and Eagle Nest had been billed at international rates. “I placed a call to AT&T, and after I had convinced them to look at a map of the United States—ultimately having to refer to New Mexico as one of those square states in the lower left-hand corner of the map—they saw the light.”
Schweitzer says he was relieved when AT&T gave him proper credit for the calls.
BLIND AMBITION: Lenore Macdonald recently experienced a geographical mini-crisis with a sales representative while shopping for window blinds at a JC Penney store in another state.
“I was purchasing the blinds for my home in Taos, and the saleslady asked me for the shipping address, so I gave her my P.O. box there,” Macdonald says.
The rep’s response was quick and terse. “JC Penney doesn’t ship to Canada or Mexico.”
Taken aback, Macdonald quickly advised the rep that the blinds were going to New Mexico, which is part
of the Union.
“Oh, yes, my sister used to live there,” responded the rep, and again attempted to place Macdonald’s order. “The computer is telling me that we can’t ship to Mexico.”
Macdonald desperately wanted the blinds. She persuaded the rep to let her type in the info herself, including the zip code. Lo and behold, the order was again rejected—“Not because New Mexico is a foreign country, but, according to the error message that I saw, because UPS does not deliver to P.O. boxes! New Mexico’s ‘foreignness’ had nothing to do with it at all.”
