tle girl and how we want to take him to visit
the carousel on this boardwalk one day.
I keep my memories of Santa Cruz close to
me, as a picture similar to the one you ran with
the article hangs in our dining room.
Joan Orr
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Reader’s guide to
product availability
A soldier’s Costco story
I have been a Costcoaholic for about 18
years and I have been in the U.S. Air Force
Reserve for 26 years. I am on the third deployment of my career. My job is to open 50-bed
hospitals for the Afghan National Army. The
United States is building and outfitting the
entire hospitals. These people currently have a
third-world medical system.
My family and friends know how much I
love and miss Costco. They tease me that
your stock probably went down since I have
been deployed.
I just received several care packages from
friends and family. In one package, they sent
me The Costco Connection because they know
how much I enjoy reading it.
Postal worker speaks up
In the March issue of The Costco
Connection [“Fresh Views”], Paul and Sarah
Edwards trashed the U.S. Postal Service, and
consequently every employee of that organization. Need I remind you of how many are
Costco members?
You could have included a sidebar in the
article or an editor’s note stating how your
magazine is mailed and delivered each month.
But since you didn’t run any such note, I can
only assume that you endorse the Edwardses’
malevolent feelings toward the USPS.
Not every visit to Costco has been a positive experience for me, but I don’t take those
rare occasions and trash your company in a
national forum. If there’s a problem I resolve it
at the store I normally do business with. But as
a consumer I do have a choice to go somewhere else if I feel the situation warrants it.
Richard L. McKay
Boise, Idaho
Ron Adler
Medical Division
Kabul, Afghanistan
Support for supporting our troops
I just got done reading your article
[“Costco supports our troops,” April]. Not that
I need another reason to shop at Costco, but
this is why I do.
The fact that Costco continues benefits
and pays the gap between the salaries for
active military personnel is a true blessing. I
am thankful for all your company does for
your employees. It takes a little of the edge off
when I get my Costco American Express bill.
Sarah Funk
Woodinville, Washington
The Edwardses respond: It was not our intention to slight the hundreds of thousands of well-motivated postal workers who serve the public,
but to comment on the repeated experiences of
ourselves. We have learned that most problems
are due to systemic issues.
■ All products advertised are carried
at Costco warehouses unless otherwise noted.
■ Products are scheduled to be available
during the period of The Connection’s
issue date.
■ Products may not be available in all
warehouse locations.
■ Prices are usually not listed in the advertising because they have not been finalized at the time of printing and may vary
from one part of the country to another
due to shipping costs. We hope that our
members know to check us first when
comparison shopping.
■ To keep prices low, Costco does not offer
a telephone service allowing members to
call in for prices or product availability.
■ Shop early in the month for best selection on seasonal products.
■ If an ad includes the phrase “shop
costco.com,” it means this product or
category is available on the Web site.
■ The Web site carries few of the products
available at the warehouses, but offers
3,500 additional items, including line
extensions and supplemental products.
Adam@Home by Brian Basset
Ed. Note: This story ran in only some versions
of The Connection, but is available in the
Online Edition, found at costco.com under
“Costco Connection Magazine.”
On the boardwalk
I just received the April issue of The
Costco Connection in the mail today. Thank
you for including the article titled “Happy
birthday, boardwalk,” which celebrates the
100th anniversary of the Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk.
I grew up in Santa Cruz and worked at the
Boardwalk as a teenager. I have a lot of great
memories of the beach and boardwalk. I now
live in Pennsylvania, but just yesterday I was
telling my 5-year-old son about the carousel
that his mommy went on when she was a lit-
