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For a more in-depth tour, visit cemeteries across the world without even buying a plane ticket. BillionGraves.com is an online sharing and research site that aims to feature — just as the name would suggest — billions of grave sites around the world. BillionGraves allows users to create a digital database of cemeteries around the world by snapping a photo, uploading it, and providing some information about it. Family members can enter a relative’s name and take a virtual tour of where their long-lost ancestors lie. A quick family search with your kids may put into perspective just how far-reaching your family is. You can also provide other families with a chance to see their relatives’ grave sites by taking a trip to your local cemetery, snapping some photos, and teaching your kids about tracking genealogy with names, dates, and descriptions.
parents or grandparents used to make, so pass on some of yours to your kids! Teach your kids how to make great-great-grandma’s famous cannoli with her original recipe or master the shepherd’s pie that your grandfather was famous for. The kids can create a shopping list, and then you can go together to pick up the ingredients. Make the recipes together, enjoy them with neighbors or relatives, and share family stories as you do. Even better — turn the food day into a
party. Guests will likely share stories of their own heritage as you break bread over hearty memories. Don’t let your inquisitive kiddo down. Family history, good or bad, is important for every child to learn. The best way to teach them boils down to your child’s personality, their likes and dislikes, and the time you have on your hands. But it’s never too early to climb that family tree.
MAKE A TRADITIONAL DISH
If you really want to make family history stick, eat food that represents your heritage. Everyone has memories of meals their
Fake Discounts and Angry Shoppers A Massive Black Friday Lawsuit
Shoppers flock to retailers every Black Friday in hopes of securing the best deals on the year’s hottest products. There are many nasty aspects of Black Friday — the long lines, the overzealous shoppers, the limited stock of items —but phony pricing and fake sales shouldn’t be among them. But that’s exactly what happened to folks in Los Angeles during the 2016 holiday season, leading to the biggest Black Friday lawsuit in history. In December of 2016, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office sued J.C. Penney, Sears, Macy’s, and Kohl’s for a practice called“false reference pricing,”a nefarious tactic whereby retailers lie about the original price of an item to make a discount appear bigger than it actually is. For example, Sears sold a Kenmore washing
machine at a“sale price”of $999.99, compared to a“regular price”of $1,179.99. The problem was the so-called sale price was actually the price that product was offered at every day. Therefore, it wasn’t actually on sale. Duping your customers is a bad business practice, but what makes it illegal?Well, California law requires that retailers post a retail price no higher than what the product was sold at within three months prior to the ad.“Families today… are striving to get the very most they can get from an extremely hard-earned holiday shopping dollar,”said LA City Attorney Mike Feuer.“They deserve tomake an informed decision.”After the suit was brought against them, the retailers all quickly moved to settle, promising to never engage in false reference pricing again.
Most retailers offer discounts around the holidays to encourage shoppers to come into their stores or visit their websites. Promotions and sales are great tools in any business’s arsenal, provided they aren’t out to mislead customers. Big-box stores may try to manipulate innocent people, and it’s up to aggrieved customers to hold those corporations accountable. Nearly every year, you’ll read about a class-action lawsuit that develops in response to the shady tactics of businesses eager to secure those holiday shopping dollars. Are there great bargains to be had on Black Friday? Of course. But if something sounds too good to be true, it very well might be. Keep your eyes peeled and don’t let retailers trick you into a purchase you wouldn’t make otherwise.
2 • FoothillsPTMaine.com
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