The View From Sari's World

The Crusades brought The Knights Templar wealth and power more than any other religious order of that time. The Pope allowed the order to forgo taxation, tithing, and encouraged their self governance; because of this many of Europe’s Kings became jealous and suspicious of the order. The Knights had castles all over Europe and after the crusades they split their time between being pious monks and fighting eastern battles. Some European rulers feared a Templar uprising though this fear had no foundation.

By the 1300s Jerusalem was under Muslim rule while Europe was broken up in small and large kingdoms. France was ruled by Philip the Fair (which is an ironic name considering what he did to the order) who needed money to finance his quest to conquer the surrounding smaller countries and become the European seat of power. Phillip knew the Templers answered only to the Pope and any king who wanted complete control had to have the financial means and papal consent. Phillip saw the Knights Templar as a hindrance to his goal so naturally he had to strip them of their power and wealth.

On Friday October 13, 1307 King Phillip had the French Templars rounded up and arrested for heresy and treason. Pope Clement had consented to the arrest after Phillip had falsely accused them of all manner of immoral acts. Almost two years after being arrested most Templars were executed and in 1312 the order was dissolved. The French people were so saddened by the actions of King Phillip and shocked that the holy order was accused of such unchristian behavior that to this day, Friday the 13 is a very unlucky day.

Personally Friday the 13th has been a lucky day for me. Why just day I received a phone call from a employment agency that specializes in white collar jobs. I was shown page after page of good paying jobs I qualify for. Since my job may not be around much longer I felt this phone call was a lucky break.
How about you? How do you feel about Friday the 13th?

Wow, it’s Thursday already! Where did the week go? It seems it was just Monday and I was getting ready to call Earth Works Systems about getting a list of companies who recycle their used gift cards.
Yesterday I received an e-mail response to my request; it seems there are a couple of big name companies using Earth Works Systems program. Here is the response:

Hi Sari,
I’m sorry I missed your call…
The GAP, Half Price Books, Whole Foods, Rite-Aid, Ace Hardware and many others are participating in returning “spent” gift cards to Earthworks. Eventually we will have a partner’s page on our web site that will list all the companies that are participating.
Here is the address that cards can be shipped to:
Earthworks c/o Halprin Ind.
25840 Miles Rd.
Bedford, Oh 44146
* Please make sure packages that are sent are sealed well.
Please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any further questions or suggestions, we love suggestions!
Regards, Rodd

During my initial call to Earth Works I was told AppleBees, and some Ohio based Starbuck are also using the program. I figure if some Ohio Starbucks can recycle their gift cards (and since they push them every chance they get like dealers with a quota to fill) the entire company can. I have set up a box at work in the hopes that my co-workers will bring their used cards in to be recycled. I have even gotten my boss to get his Boy Scout troupe in on the act. They are going to see if they can start collecting used cards.

What I would really like to see is less gift card use among consumers. It is getting to be the ideal gift for teens but do we really want to give our teens the gift of overwhelmed landfills too? Before you purchase your next gift card ask yourself if a check wouldn’t work just as well. Paper is will breakdown in left in a landfill unlike the plastic card. Ask companies if they offer reloadable gift cards; my local SaveMart will reload a card if asked.

I know it seems trivial, but every time we throw something away we are contributing to a larger problem.