Rant and Rave!

Rant "To the person ranting about the couple pushing a toddler with a DVD on his lap around Green Lake. I would have been as critical as you before my son was born with autism and other disabilities. My teenage son often has his DVD player in tow. This allows us to take part in a number of activities that we otherwise wouldn't be able to participate in. I don't know if this particular child you saw had a disability, but please refrain from being judgmental about situations you can't possibly understand in passing."

Rave "To the Renton Wal-Mart employees who saved my 91-year-old mother from a serious scam. She had received a phone call from someone impersonating her grandson who said he had been in a car accident in Canada and needed cash for car repairs. My mother believed it was her grandson. When she went to Wal-Mart to purchase a Moneygram, the cashier, Cindy, was alerted by the story, which seemed similar to a scam she was aware of. She called the customer-service representative, Crystal, to check it out. It did turn out to be a scam, and these two employees saved my mother from losing her hard-earned money. Thank you!"

Rave "To the University Village Pasta & Co. I was halfway through assembling dinner for a party of 10 when I realized I had left a recipe page — ripped from my Pasta & Co. cookbook — in the grocery cart at the store. Up to my eyeballs in grated cheese, I called five minutes before 5 p.m. I explained my idiocy to the woman on the phone, and she walked me through the entire recipe. It took 20 minutes to explain. Customer service is not dead and buried; it is alive and well at University Village Pasta & Co. By the way, dinner was delicious!"

Rant "To the person(s) who hit my neighbor's cat Aug. 23 between 8 and 9:15 p.m. on 15th Avenue N.E. and 98th and 97th streets. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that it was an accident, but what you did after that was unconscionable and just plain cruel. You left him to die in the middle of a busy street with multiple broken bones and severe head trauma. He somehow managed to crawl to the side of the road to avoid being hit again. We found him still alive, and we rushed him to the emergency vet. He unfortunately didn't make it. My only wish is that if some horrible act of violence is perpetrated against you, either by accident or through your own stupidity, that someone kinder and more compassionate than you actually stops to help."

Sniff, sniff. Call in your rants and raves to 206-464-3279 or e-mail us at Rantandrave@seattletimes.com.