On a day when the weather outside is beautiful and all should be right with the world, I have spent close to an hour with Cynergy Data, my company's merchant service provider, discussing why a $200 penalty fee is unfair. A fee, by the way, that I only became aware of today because I called to answer a letter they had sent me. Response from the top management was, you should have been aware that you were penalized. How can a person keep on top of these penalties when on your bank statement all that it says is the name of the company? Or when a statement comes and it is full of numbers and abbreviations?

Being overly sensitive, I had to stop and look outside my window again to realize all IS alright with the world and that it IS beautiful outside. I have run my company for now 8 years, always putting the customer first; choosing to produce in the United States to help my country's economy. In the end, where I think we fail as fellow human beings is the desire to truly help one another. To evaluate what is important...keeping a customer or the $200?

Maybe I am naive, but how can a person survive with all the obstacles placed upon them by the economy and the big companies just looking at the bottom line? I think it's time for more people to look outside their windows and take a deeper breath of not just fresh air, but humility and honesty. Maybe then every day would be a beautiful day...rain or shine!