Oh man.
I so loved him in dumb & dumberer
My favorite Saget role was Half Baked.
He was not afraid of self-parody.
And they WILL NOT give you relevant info or actual quotes except ON THE PHONE. No chat, no email contact, no online forms to be filled out for an estimate or to see if you qualify for this or that discount.
That’s what I dislike most about the Medicare ads, that you have to call a phone number. They don’t list web sites because, as everyone knows, people over 65 are too stupid to use the interwebs.
I even saw one “old people sitting around pretending they’re chatting” commercial that had a grandma type say “And the best thing is… no website to visit!”
I had a good laugh about it with my 95 yr old mom (who was in a Zoom meeting on her iPad).
What annoys the fuck out of me about those commercials is the “call and check your zip code” schtick……….”I called and they checked my zip code!”
I’m sometimes tempted to call that damn number and start babbling about my zip code……Hi! I called! Check my my zip code! No,I don’t know what it is, that’s why I called you! Why would you tell me to call so you can check my zip code when you don’t even know what it is? Oh, you’re selling insurance? I had no idea! I thought you were some sort of emergency zip code hotline for us senile oldsters that can’t remember where we live. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to find my way home without your help. Are you sure you don’t know where I live? Thanks for nothing, then.
On the behalf of everyone turning 65 soon, I’d like to apologize for those commercials….because if it weren’t for us they would’ve disappeared last month.
I used to work at a Medicare/Medicaid enrollment inbound call center. The reason you have to check the ZIP code is because although you may be calling from one state, I may be in another.
I had to get an insurance license in PA, reciprocal to NY, for my job. We sat here in Johnstown and signed people up from all over New York. Plan prices differ by county. We even had classes on how to pronounce county and city names properly. Going online would be more efficient, yes, but we agents can answer your questions as they come up instead of you having to wait for emails.
Jeez, I understand why the agents need to determine where the caller resides.
But my objection is that these commercials are startlingly opaque about the fact they are selling insurance. It’s all Check Your Zip Code! Get Free Money!
It’s playing on this scam culture that assumes old people are so used to failing for scams is that the best way to hook them into something that’s probably legitimate is to make it sound like a “money for nothing” scam.
That does sound pretty shitty. I haven’t seen the commercials and now I don’t want to. And Broadway Joe used to be a hero of mine. I grew up in the next town over from Beaver Falls.
The local electric co-op sends out a magazine every month or so; the target audience is clearly the more senior set. They once ran an ad for some kind of stripped down PC with a very simplified interface (one clearly labeled icon for internet, one clearly labeled icon for mail, etc). The ad copy was insultingly hilarious, promising to eliminate all that confusing pointing and clicking and dragging.
Back around 2001 I remember helping out some AutoCAD folks I was supporting at my company. I was reading the manual and it has some tip on how to use the software without having to use a keyboard, by selecting text, choosing to copy it, and then pasting it elsewhere. This was seriously portrayed as a way to avoid having to use a keyboard at all.
It seemed like something from The Onion. But no, it was in the software manual. I massive WTF moment.
Not that I ever espouse violence; I just like funny movie clips.
When I see these commercials I think of the scene that they always cut out of
“One Crazy Summer”.
To continue my mini-rant from last month: Took Mischief to the vet today and got the diagnosis of diabetes confirmed. So now twice a day he gets an insulin shot. This turned out to be easier than I thought it would be. The insulin doesn’t need to be refrigerated, but comes in a pre-loaded pen. All I have to do is set the dosage and attach the needle, then pinch up the fur between his shoulder blades, stick the needle in, and press a button. He doesn’t even feel it; I do it while he’s wolfing down his canned food.
The only issue (besides the cost) is that I need to make arrangements with my neighbor to give him his shots when I go out of town. She already checks up on them, so I just need to make sure she knows where the pen is and how to use it.
I lost my Mayme yesterday. Kidney failure.
The house is so quiet. I keep hearing her. Looking at the table, expecting to hear her little chirrup response. The floor creaks and I expect to see her come around the corner.
As I held her, crying, she reached up and patted my face, like telling me it was okay. But it’s not okay. That neurotic, difficult, loving-in-her-own-way cat is who has kept me going the past few years.
She was the best cat. And I’m lost.
Ohh MissTake, I am so , so sorry. BTDT, and … damn it, I’m just so sorry you’re in that place 
Hugs and love to those who’ve lost pets. My rant-I made the mistake of visiting the church I used to go to. It’s run by a husband and wife and mostly attended by their children. After a good message, there was the God will bless you if you tithe claim. I’m not working right now so don’t have a tenth of income. As if I don’t feel bad not having a boo right now, her 19 try old daughter has found her future husband, approved by her parents. Of course they’re not having sex til they’re married( not a great idea, depending).
So sorry, MissTake. We’ve all been in that place, and it hurts so much.
Oh, they usually do list a website at the bottom of the screen, but the websites don’t let you actually do anything but read their spiel. It’s like something out of 1997.
My mother lasted less than 10 hours on New Years Day 2021. I didn’t think it was particularly cruel for her, but for our family that holiday will never be quite as happy.
So sorry for both of you!
Had a friend whose whole family was thinking “Don’t let it be Christmas! Sad memories on the 27th or 28th would be okay…”