Flower mound liquor stores

this happened 4 days ago. quick backstory: 23f 26m. we’ve been together a year and a half, known each other for two. before we even started having sex i made it extremely clear that he could never finish in me, and if he did then we would never be having sex again. i was in birth control in high school and my body reacted extremely poorly to it and i will never go on it again. he told me that he was perfectly fine with being responsible for the birth control aspect. it’s not even about getting pregnant, i just don’t like the way it feels, physically and all the other ways. he also recently started a new job where he travels for work.
when he got back to the house from work i was already there waiting for him (i’ve been saying at his place for the past couple weeks just to see him more since he’s been working more). i was in the kitchen making dinner for the both of us like i always did since he started traveling (candles, flowers, music, etc.). he didn’t even say hi to me he just came onto me the second he saw me like i was a piece of meat. i thought he was being sweet, like there’s nothing wrong with a kiss hello but it wasn’t that. he was being really aggressive and we hadn’t even been kissing for 10 seconds before he flipped me around really harshly and pulled my pants down.
i’m not going into detail but it was so aggressive and rough and at one point he slammed my face down into the kitchen counter and held my head there. i was so shocked by him being so aggressive because he’s never ever like this ever (he’s a really nerdy skinny guy, his apartment looks like a library, he’s not ever “dominant” in bed and i’m pretty sure he was a virgin before i met him, just to give an idea), that i didn’t even ask if he was wearing protection. i literally couldn’t say anything because i didn’t even know what was happening until it was over. i obviously felt that he finished in me and i turned around and asked him if he did and he just looked at me. i was still pretty freaked out and kinda scared honestly i walked away from him to the bathroom to try and compose and clean myself. i didn’t want to be at his place anymore and i also wanted to go pick up a plan b from the drug store asap. when i was leaving he kept apologizing and saying he was sorry and he’s just tired and he just missed me and all this stuff and kept begging me not to leave and to hear him out and all this stuff and i was crying at this point because i was still confused on what just happened. he was literally standing at the door blocking me from leaving saying he was sorry and he didn’t mean to and all this.
i ended up leaving and taking care of my stuff but i haven’t been back there or spoken to him since. he’s calling and texting me every second of the day saying he’s sorry. and i hate that i really do believe he’s sorry. he’s the sweetest person ever and he’s never aggressive or anything like he just was and i’m just so hurt by everything. i literally gave him ONE single boundary and the rest was free game and he couldn’t even do that. and it’s not even like he “didn’t understand” because i physically could not have made it more clear that i am not okay with him finishing inside me. not only that but i spent all this time setting up a cute dinner “date” for us since we hadn’t seen each other in a couple days and didn’t even get to finish it. i don’t even know if i want to reply to him ever because i still feel so disgusting and violated. i just feel really bad for ignoring him because i really do believe that he’s sorry but i feel like i shouldn’t and the thought of seeing him again makes me feel queasy.

We recently bought a house in Brooklyn, NY (zone 7B) and next to the garage is a 2’x3’ patch of soil where an overgrown rose bush used to be. We had to dig it out for fear of the kids getting hurt on it when running around in the yard. I’d love to plant something else in its place as the patch is barren at this point and just growing weeds. It’s in a very sunny spot that gets about 10+ hours of direct sunlight. The soil is terrible though - thick, sticky clay. I’m planning to dig out about 2 feet of it and then mix in store bought humus and compost and then amend it annually with compost I can make around the garden.
Would love any recommendations for flowering shrubs or small flowering trees that can help bring pollinators to the garden.
Thanks!!

We recently bought a house in Brooklyn, NY (zone 7B) and next to the garage is a 2’x3’ patch of soil where an overgrown rose bush used to be. We had to dig it out for fear of the kids getting hurt on it when running around in the yard. I’d love to plant something else in its place as the patch is barren at this point and just growing weeds. It’s in a very sunny spot that gets about 10+ hours of direct sunlight. The soil is terrible though - thick, sticky clay. I’m planning to dig out about 2 feet of it and then mix in store bought humus and compost and then amend it annually with compost I can make around the garden.
Would love any recommendations for flowering shrubs or small flowering trees that can help bring pollinators to the garden.
Thanks!!

Hey, R4R30Plus! I'm MG. Here's a bit of basic info about me and what I'm looking for
I've been lurking in this subreddit for a while, but it's my first time posting. Probably won't be my last, though. I'm a strange, elusive thing, and the person I'm looking for is strange and elusive as well. I'm hoping he's here right now, but if not, I'm okay with sticking around and trying again for as long as it takes.
Before anything else, I have to say I'm living with my mom who has cancer, so I'm not going to be moving anywhere soon. She's currently doing okay and I'm hoping to keep her going for more than 5 years, but I'm trying to get this whole dating thing rolling now because time's really creeping up on me, you know? The other day, I accidentally startled myself awake by smacking my arm against my lips and I woke up thinking, "Whoa, that flesh is not as supple as it used to be!"
I figure if I ever want to have meaningful, passionate, and loving sex while my breasts still have a bit of lift to them, I should take the plunge and look for someone right now.
Anyway. Here's my first pitch!
In the fantasy world I'm writing about, the people of a certain religion used to believe that everyone has several spiritual creatures living inside them. There's a funny, little monster coiled at the base of your spine (connecting you to the earth), an entirely different creature crouched on the crown of your head (connecting you to the sky), and five others frolicking about in between.
This mental construct was supposed to help the believers understand that even though each of them feels like their Self is a single, discrete whole, the truth is that every person consists of multitudes. People are complex, contradictory. For these ancient folks, the process of becoming fully human was to discover and name all of these inner beasts, and eventually come to understand their personal humanity in terms of being both a single organism and an emergent ecosystem.
Nowadays, that metaphor has fallen out of fashion. (Evil mage. Hive mind. Long story.) But traces of it still remain in local rituals, particularly in marriage.
For example, many wedding ceremonies still have some version of "circuit binding". Each person to be married would be fitted with a circlet, with a fine chain attached to the back of it and dangling all the way down to the tailbone. Depending on the couple's wealth and status, there would be seven jewels or polished pebbles or papier-mâché flowers set in intervals along the chain, each with a ribbon fixed to it.
The jewels or flowers symbolize the couple's inner creatures. The ribbons symbolize vulnerability -- a reaching outward into the void hoping that something friendly would reach out back.
After the vows are said, the couple's friends and family would help them tie the ribbons together one by one: crown to crown, mind to mind, throat to throat, heart to heart, and so on. In this way, they're saying that this marriage is not just between one person to another. It's the marriage of the inner menageries as well.
If the heart-beast in one fails and becomes fearful and sad and filled with resentment against the world, then the heart in the other would move to cover that one with its wings, to compensate for the other's weakness until it's well again. If the mind-beast in one is just not very good at planning or remembering birthdays, then its counterpart would step in and handle that aspect of their lives. And sometimes, there would be just that simple, ecstatic union: instant recognition and welcome, like a golden retriever meeting a toy poodle at a park and realizing that no matter how different the other one looks, they're the same kind after all.
Basically, the two inner worlds would flow into each other -- filling each other's gaps or amplifying each other's strengths -- creating a circuit of spiritual power that's greater than either of them could manage on their own.
And I wrote all of that, not just because I wanted to give everyone a live performance demonstrating why I'm a childless, never-married woman at 35, but also because this does reflect my own personal philosophy when it comes to personhood and relationships. I do believe that each of us contains multitudes. Many of us are infested with inchoate, inner beasts, whose names we do not yet know. And while parts of us will enthusiastically roll around in the dog park together, other bits of us might not play well at all. But we somehow have to figure out how to make it all work.
Anyway, if you're a single/divorced and kind man who would enjoy discussing how we could mate what's essentially our chakra Pokémon* or other such weird things, send me an email. I will not reply to any comments, chats, or DMs here on Reddit. I do appreciate people who are not romantically interested but still want to leave kind comments, so I'll thank you in advance here. I see your good vibes and I'm sending them back your way.
But if you are interested in starting a relationship, please send me an email. Preferably with a picture of you and as much info as you're comfortable sharing. In terms of physical attraction, I'd prefer a man in his 30s-50s, taller than me (5'3 and up), who's at least somewhat active (would love to have a walking buddy someday). Also, I like dad bods. <3 Teddy bear cuddles!
My email address is not-so-cleverly hidden in the slideshow in my profile. And I know, I know, it's a lot of extra steps. But my ideal person would enjoy having tons of information about me, because I'd also like to know tons of information about them. (If I like you, I will attempt to read all your blog posts or look at all your pics, etc.) (And no, while I might sound like one, I am not a large language model hoovering up data from all over the internet in order to simulate human speech. But I am on the autism spectrum, which makes me similar. That said, I've devoted the past eight years to learning human empathy and manually building structures of kindness into my brain. Some might consider this state, er, unemployed, but it's important and difficult work that a lot of people neglect to do. I can bring value to your life, just not financially.) (And just so it's clear, I am not going to ask for money from you if we're just dating or in an LDR. Unless you want to hire me to make a dating slideshow for you or something lol)
Even if you don't decide to email me, as long as you've made it to the end, I sincerely thank you for reading through this! You must be a person of great culture and taste. XD I hope you find the one for you soon.
.
^\Unfortunately, I've never watched Pokémon, I just have a vague idea from all the bits that have percolated into general culture. (My own formative childhood anime was Akazukin Cha Cha, which is like a dollar store Sailor Moon. ^^; I have the worst taste in anime.))

Part 1
"When we Firmas were pushed north into the Pyrimian mountain valley after the death of their chain of command, they settled down and instead of focusing on expansion focused on necessities like food. With co-operation from the first goblins and other creative minds that joined the First Wave of the migration, they managed to grow food over the summer in first-iteration greenhouses. "My parents were part of the first wave. They were old for a couple, but joined the Firma clan in founding a government and keeping the area safe, as well as spreading word. The dragonic gods didn't like their behavior at all; cities burning is more entertainment for them, so they were the first to be Forsaken in this era, publicly, in the main square of the old Dragonic Capital. "However, that backfired, with more and more dragons tired of running around and fighting all the time, they decided to settle down in a place where nobody would bother them; now that they had this place given to them, and the Second Wave started. Basically the entirety of the dragonic clans and several other species amassed in this wave, and the Sapient Unification Government held. "My parents had an egg in one of the more northern caves, right on the coast. Then, the third wave arrived and everything went downhill from there. "The Unification Wars were fought between those who wanted one government to cover this region, and those who wanted governments segregated by species. This would have been fine if the secessionists didn't step in on people's behalves, without their consent; it took fifteen years of war for the war to end. Millions died and some species like the Snow Fox beastpeople almost went extinct. My parent were part of the death wave. "The war evolved so rapidly it was impossible for a commander to last more than two months. It started with sticks and stones and within a month there were arrow volleys. A year saw guns, two tanks, three battleships, four planes. Bombs, bigger bullets, bigger guns, bigger bombs. "In the last few months of the war, the first nuclear devices were used, creating miniature stars on the land with immense destructive potential unleashed. It ended with mutually assured destruction protocols being activated, and when all was said and done the land was a snow-fallen irradiated dustball. "It took years for the survivors to pick up the remnants of our short-lived civilization and restart it into the Terra Firma Sapience Union. All the time, my egg didn't hatch because I had no incubator, but didn't die thanks to my ice type. It was located close enough to a mana vein where I just... absorbed the entire vein. When the cave was found by explorers following maps for my parents den, all they found was my egg glowing brighter than Sunstones. "I was taken to an incubation facility in Cellyia, one of the bigger cities. There I hatched, and after more than one test I grew. My growth was still... affected by the time without an incubator, so my already slow growth stopped after fifty years instead of continuing to infinity. And then I took some magic courses, did my best to drain my mana reserves, and settled down here, well away from... the bustle of Cellyia. It never quite felt like a home, you know. It was a good place to grow up, don't get me wrong, but I like it here better. Remote, and in the same place my parents met for the first time. As much as I can tell, anyway; a number of records were destroyed in the Unification War. "When your heroes continued to come up here, I would be the one on first guard. Damming a river, I used water magic to break it. Trying to destroy some transit infrastructure, I would be the first one to either fake it, finish it off, or lure them away. When your latest one decided to head for Cellyia, it was out of my range for such activities. I shadowed the party on the way and let others take care of it. "I never thought that your 'heroes' would be heartless enough to burn what they were told and even acknowledged as a hospital with patients inside. A library and museum with most of our pre-unification works inside. An orphanage, a school... an entire neighborhood of ten thousand citizens' homes. What for? To try to kill just one of us. "We... couldn't take that kind of behavior. Cellyia might have not been the best place for someone with my personality to grow up, especially without parental figures, but that orphanage still had some good memories. An all-citizens vote was called, an all-citizens vote was passed, and we started a counter-offensive military campaign into your Civilization Nations. We've been waiting for you elves, leaders of the Civilized Nations, to advance your society; it's been seven hundred years, all the most you've done is grow your population and add an extra floor to your townhomes. "So we're going to do it for you. You ran our patience down, so we're going to change your society for you. Is it a repeat of the Unification War? I don't think so, given that you Civilized Nations never rescinded the declaration of war against us 'monsters' over two thousand years ago; one that you still follow through on to this day. "But that isn't the end of my story. "When the gods forsook us, they tried to pry away our magic, our land, and our lives. So we defended. Space radars monitor their movements on the mortal plane. There's so many more technical details I can go into. All I can tell you is, at one point, the old god of Dragonic Princess-kidnapping; yes, they were a god; they came and asked us to restart worshiping them. "That went over as well as you'd expect, and the next thing that happened... was that I absorbed her mana and powers. Technically, I am an undefined god, and... at this point, I'm afraid to get a definition. "What if it's something I don't like? Something evil, immoral... something my parents, the leaders of the Second Wave, wouldn't be proud of? What if... what if it kills me? Everyone hates me? I'd no longer be free... "So my solution was to hide. Here, in a mountain cave in the middle of nowhere. This is my life, all of it... and I don't know where to go from here." ----- "So... you're a god?" I asked. I couldn't think of another question to ask. "Yes and no." The cat replied. It did nothing to satisfy my fearful curiosity. How could one both be and not be a god? "Princess-kidnapping was a... niche god, rarely prayed to by still enough to be, you know, and actual deity. So her mana ran out first, and most of it dissipated back into the environment yada yada yada, but like the sponge my mana reserves are, I sucked more of it up than I should have; enough to had just a slight touch of divine control. On par with a low-level demigod. If I was omnipresent, I'd solve me problems with a snap of my claws, and then I wouldn't be hiding from my problems here." "If your powers came from a god, how are yours undefined?" My mind was seeking knowledge now. I was a mage, after all, and this was more than just the opportunity of a lifetime; it was the opportunity of a aeon. "Because I absorbed her essence from the environment before it had the chance to fully dissipate, but still late enough where it was no longer hers." Vixie shrugged "Or something like that, mana gets weird sometimes. All that matters now is my stockpile is slowly increasing its grow rate, which gets annoying pretty fast." "Annoying?" The cat laughed again. "Do you think this is all of my baseline reserve? Half of the reason I stay away from the rest of society is because the last time someone with multiple aura got involved with politics..." She trailed off, and then let another, this time impeccably cast illusion fall. The air around her was burnt crisp with the power of several mandatory auras in her current small size. Twelve tails flicked behind her back, eleven of them made of energy. Floating specs of light, some smaller while others the size of ice crystals surrounded the air around her. The six orbs on her back were joined by six more, and were attached to a ring. Her head had two halos, and her entire body was engraved with glowing lines. If she before radiated power, now she was made of it. The lights on the cave's ceiling flickered as more and more of the illusion fell away. Geometric shapes orbiting her body, a platform made of mana at her feet, lightning whizzing between all sorts of objects. Finally, it was gone, and the cat that stared at me with big, sad, glowing blue eyes had told me her deepest secret. As soon as it had started, the illusion repaired itself, and before me was one cat, a halo, six orbs, two crystals, and two mana tails. I did the second most instinctive thing when it came to seeing a cat. I pulled her in for a hug. There was a quickly quieted hiss as she squirmed a bit in my grip, trying to get more comfortable, before letting herself get stroked by me. Several images flashed before my eyes, and a tear came out of mine. We had gone to war against the less lucky sapients on our world, and were now paying the price. It felt like hours, but then my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't eaten in literal days. Vixie shot out of my grip and led the way down into the cave. I followed, and soon enough I was eating some salted crackers with dried meat and cheese while Vixie moved around between other caves. "What are you doing?" I asked her between bites. "Packing," She replied. "Why?" "It's time I got out of here and, to follow the phrase, touched some grass." ----- It took three days for the elf, whose name was Nick, to recover enough to be able to make the journey to Cellyia. In those three days, I realized just how - and why - the Civilized Races looked at us the way they did. For starters, I'd forgotten just how many things ran on electricity, let alone other, more complicated mechanics. Pressurized water, instant hot water, even sinks, showers, and toilets were all completely unknown to the 'civilized races.' Ah, yes. Civilized without toilet paper. Bitter ramblings about the people who set off the chain reaction of events that killed my family aside, those were the second longest three days of my life; the first was my thirteenth birthday so I could get a personal HUD and social media. I was also a mess of thoughts. The elf had shown me, over the course of the three days - aside from the two-minute get-my-life-together moment - that I couldn't hide from my problems forever, or they would team up and try to hunt me. Hence my new, reluctant guest from the overflowing hospital they had oh-so-nicely delivered to my door. I had words for the medical staff. And I was also a mess of thoughts. Did I mention that one already. In all seriousness, Nick adapted to electronics pretty well. All I had to do was explain what it was, what it did, and file it under the name of science. It took an impressive four minutes of rambling about quantum mechanics before Vick realized that he was in way over his head asking how the 'magic rock that can half-think with bottled lightning' worked. He backed out when I yanked a textbook from my knowledge hoard and flipped through the pages to the start to explain how quantum superposition affected the set of particles it was entangled to. Fun. Finding out what toothbrushes were took some convincing, but soon the elf's teeth started to recover from lack of proper dental care. Food was easier than I expected, and Vick was pretty accepting of whatever I tossed on his plate. Except for artichokes, for some reason he hated those. Over the three days we bonded, and Nick got pretty used to life in my home. On the second day I moved him to the guest bedroom I had built but never maintained, but one wave of my paw and a splurge of magic later that was solved. "Why don't you use magic more often?" Nick asked. I explained that was much as I wanted to burn my reserves like they were a forest before a forest fire, the mental strain was tough without learning proper casting, which requires one to drain their reserves to practice wielding physical willpower. That meant that I was caught in an infinite loop of negativity, so I could only get away with a couple spells a day before the mental exhaustion metaphorically turned my brain to mush. On the morning of the fourth day, we left. Honestly, Nick could have left on the first day but I wanted him to be able to have the stamina to walk around for hours on end with me in Cellyia. Either way, as long as he kept by me it would be fine. There was a small population of elves, humans, and dwarves who had come up to the TFSU for one reason or another and never left, which meant that he wouldn't be too far out of place. My plan, instead of just flying into the Cellyia while steering clear of the airport, was to make it to the closest town, Lymian, and take a train from there north to Union Station. It would dump us a bit further downtown than I liked, but Cellyia was built in levels, and I could take the footpath level to wherever I needed. All said and done and one passenger seat clipped to my saddlebag harness on my dragon form, I opened the door to my cave. And was promptly blocked by a wall of snow. "Right," I half-grumbled. I enjoyed tunneling through snow, but spray would make the entrance cave wet and that wouldn't dry for another couple days, and until it did the sound of drips would echo throughout my home like nothing else. Either way, checking one last time that Nick was secure, I prepared my wings and powered forward. The snow and ice parted for me, and then melted and fixed itself back together behind me as I power-swam through the snow the same way I would through water. After ten seconds of this, I burst up from the snow-covered mountain the snowstorm had left behind and started to change my heading for Lymian. It would take thirty minutes of flying to get there, as I was flying lower and slower than usual to take care of my passenger, but we soon enough turned the next mountain and saw the town. The elf gasped as he took in the sights, while I kept my eye out for more activity. It had been fortified as a military base due to the war, but not by much; the town was useless from a defensive standpoint anyway. I spotted the next train arriving from its winding track around the next mountain, which also meant that I was a bit early. The citizens of Lymian were used to my presence, as I usually stopped by to pick up supplies and occasionally a bit of correspondence. So when I landed on top of a several story tall snow pile, nobody cared. I let Nick out, and then transformed into my cat form and slid down the snow pile to start to jogging towards the train station. That's when I remembered that unlike me, elves without snowshoes do not float on snow. Oops. ----- The sights were more than pretty, more than beautiful... If the gods had rejected these people, they might have just as well done it out of jealousy. After I'd been dropped off on top of a snow mound, I immediately flattened myself on my stomach to not fall through. I'd been in more than enough snowstorms and snow mounds to know how it would go if I didn't. The cat climbed the hill below me, reappearing as naturally as the snow fell. "Sorry," Vixie apologized. "Here, let me..." I felt the snow melt around me and we descended down to the ground. Vixie glowed brightly, literally; Even using as little magic as reshaping some snow was threatening to cascade out of her form. We moved to the train station without incident, where the massive 'train cars' were loaded full of passengers and cargo and then taken off towards the big city. Apparently this was the same one the hero burned, but the 'rebuilding and recovery efforts we going well; no critical infrastructure had been severely damaged.' Either way, the ride there was uneventful. Stepping out into Union Station was different. It was like I had entered a busy capital marketplace or square, with everyone rushing in another direction to another place. I trailed after Vixie, where even the oddity of an elf in these mountains was outshone by just how many different races there were; beastkin and kobolds and orcs and undead all filled the streets in, well, peace. "The city is built in layers," Vixie explained. "So while yes, residential and office towers here in the capital were set alight, underground public transit, personal transit, and cargo and fluid transit was all untouched, so we were able to circle around the hero and put out the fires to be replaced with smoke generators, and a couple holograms snatched from a nearby cargo transport." I had no idea what any of that meant, only that the city also had extensive underground bits. The towers soared over everything, and lights covered every spare centimeter of the city. Vixie led me down market stalls, across plazas, through parks and through building lobbies. Eventually, the babble increased, something I didn't think was possible. "Welcome to the commercial district," Vixie said after she had pulled me into a corner away from the masses of people and crowds moving around. "We're right near the harbor, and when we get there I'm going to show you the lighthouse and explain the city a bit better." I almost lost track of Vixie as we continued to move through the throngs of people going about their daily lives. I saw a couple boarded up shops, but most of them were either undamaged or didn't care about the scorch marks on their shops. Jewelry boutiques and grocery stores lived in tandem with furniture stores and a massive slab of too-smooth-to-be-natural stone of a rock type I had never seen before. It was covered in signs depicting some kind of diagram. Right around the corner was the waterfront, with a massive promenade running alongside it. Snow-covered trees lined the walkways, and soon enough Vixie and I came out of the crowd near a large, tall abandoned - though no unmaintained - building. "Right then," Vixie explained and started climbing. "Here's the old lighthouse, it's perfect for seeing the city. They never officially decommissioned it, so it's still legal to climb and properly maintained, but they never use it either." "What was the large thing they were building?" I asked, clambering onto the next ladder. "That? Oh, that was the space elevator." Vixie replied. "The ground part has been completed for three years now, we're just waiting for the rest of the nanotubes to make it into orbit and then run a kevlar cord up, follow it down with the space-grade heavy-duty nanotube cord, and then that's that." "Space?..." I was confused. "When the gods said that they were higher than mortals, you took that both figuratively and literally; they live above you and in a higher dimension. In this case, space is where they live in terms of height, but not number of dimensions. We're working on interdimensional travel, and interuniversal too, but those aren't replicatable on any sort of large scale yet." Vixie shrugged. "Either way, it's not like I care." "But you have it?" I pressed. "Dimensional travel." "Yes." She replied. "Well," I let out a short laughed. "The Civilized Nations are screwed over." "That's putting it lightly," She climbed on top of the last platform and showed me the city against the setting sun, lit up brighter than the night sky and more lively than the earth. It was beautiful. I sat there and watched the city glow with a power not even the gods had, side by side with not a dragon or monster, but a friend. END. A/N: Rushed this last bit of the arc, but school is ramping up at the end of the year so it was either fast story or incomplete story, and I chose fast story. Happy pride month, everyone, and I hope to see more of you when I have more time.
Original Prompt: [WP] For as long as all the races have known, Dragons have been seen as violent, destructive creatures. After an attack on your village, you black out and find yourself in the den of a dragon. It's rather annoyed that that is how they're seen, and wants to prove that isn't the case.
u/Lycan_Jedi thank you for the prompt!
Part 1

Had a couple of small wins recently thanks to LCBO screw ups that I just wanted to share :
First, as a little PSA/FYI: The LCBO must honour the sticker price of any item, even if that sticker price is wrong. I recently went into one of my local stores and saw a bottle of 2019 Chateau Gazin listed for $129. I knew that had to be wrong because I remembered debating with myself about pulling the trigger for a bottle of the 2020 en premieur at $140. There was no way a better rated vintage could cost LESS on the shelf than a worse one en premieur. I took the bottle to the cash and sure enough the scanned price was $170. Here's the product link for reference. I told the cashier that that wasn't the listed price. She checked the shelf and sure enough honoured the sticker price of $129. Right away though they took it down and replaced it with the correct price.
My second win came at a different store after I noticed on the website a nice looking bottle of Amarone on clearance from $50 down to $40. So I rushed to a store that showed a few bottles on the shelf to grab one. I bring it to check out and it rings up at $28! Surprised and delighted, I told the cashier I'll be right back and return a few seconds later with two more bottles in hand.
The irony of it all is that the prices I ended up paying are probably closer to what the LCBO should be charging anyway. Its a shame the largest liquor monopoly in the world can't pass down their economies of scale to its customers .

August Maniaci Link: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=95092#relPageId=11&search=caminiti_rockford)
History of the Milwaukee Outfit
-Al Capone was a camorrista and an associate of Masseria and Capone had a large scale gambling and bootlegging operation
-Joe Aiello would gamble at Capone's places, but when he would lose, he would have the gambling operation raided and Aiello's men would take much more money than was lost
-Capone was paying protection to Masseria
-A dispute arose between Masseria and Aiello and Masseria than brought Capone in and made him a capodecina and told Capone to kill Aiello
-In 1926 or 1927, there was a "Appalachian type meeting" (Generale assemblea?) in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The meetings purpose was to make peace in Chicago, but other families attended
-Tough Tony Capesio was one of the shooters in the St. Valentine's day massacre
-Jack Zutta, a Jewish Aiello associate, was murdered by Capone's gang
-The Milwaukee mafia banned people from helping Aiello.
-Sam Aiello, Joe Caminiti, and Migele Mineo were former Aiello members who fled Chicago to join the Milwaukee family
-Sam Aiello wasn't sympathetic about his brother. Sam returned to Chicago later and was in Jim DiGeorge's crew
-Carl Caputa left Chicago and went to Madison where he became boss. Joe "Joe Pizza Pie" Aiello (unspecified relation to the Joe Capone wared with) went with Caputa to Madison
-Milwaukee didn't try to extort any gamblers until Sam Ferrara
-Al Capone was Neopolitan, the next boss was Tony Accardo who was "Thelast Sicilian to be an important boss," Accardo was succeeded by a Neopolotan Sam Giancana (Pretty sure this info is wrong)
-Chicago outfit was a "Money grabbing operation" where only a few leaders profit "at the expense of the general membership" this had an effect on Milwaukee
-Chicago took over Milwaukee in 1952
-Sam Ferrara wanted to have a piece of the Ogden social club which was a gambling place that Frank Balistrieri had a piece on and Balistieri was Son-In-Law to John Alioto. Balistrieri said no to Ferrara and then Ferrara shelved Balistrieri. Milwaukee then asked Chicago to help them with all the trouble.
-A general meeting was held in 1952; Tony Accardo, Rocco Fischetti, and Sam Giancana attended. Sam Ferrara was taken down as boss and replaced by John Alioto
-Alioto reinstated Balistrieri and made him a capodecina
-While Alioto was boss, no gamblers or businessmen were extorted
-John DiTrapani was a capodecina who didn't like Alioto, so he said he would spend $90,000 and even was willing to finance some murders
-One of DiTrapani's friends "Pasternak" lost a lot of money gambling with the outfit and DiTrapani made it known he was very upset
-Furthermore, Alioto heard about Ditrapani's plans to become boss and this sealed DiTrapani's fate
-Chicago were the ones who ordered DiTrapani's murder, not Alioto
-DiTrapani and Frank LaGalbo (a member and DiTrapani associate) were called to a meeting by the Chicago outfit. The meeting was going to be in Milwaukee though.
-LaGalbo warned DiTrapani not to go. LaGabo himself wasn't going to go.
-DiTrapani went anyway and on March 16, 1954 he was murdered. the following day he was found shot in his car
-LaGalbo was very well connected to Chicago and he set up a transfer where he would be in the Chicago family in the decina of Frank LaPorte
-LaPorte was centered in Chicago Heights
-Jack Enea was also apart of the faction that wanted Alioto taken down as boss. he wasn't killed until November, 1954 (Chicago authorized it)
-In January of 1962, Joe Alioto retired and Frank P. Balistrieri took over, Alioto was upset about this. Alioto apparently felt it should've gone to an older man
-furthermore, Alioto was upset that Balistrieri had an affair with his wife's cousin
-Balistrieri began shaking down gamblers and businessmen
-Balistrieri was collecting $500-$600 from Bruno Ramazini and John Volpe who ran the Holiday House
-Despite not collecting from Frank and Jimmy Fazio who ran restaurants, there was an incident where a bomb went off. After this, Balistrieri went to Florida and when he came back he said that they had a piece of Jimmy Fazio's place in Fort Lauderdale
-Balistrieri was not liked by older members because he never consulted with anyone before making decisions and Maniaci even said it would not surprise him if Balistrieri was murdered. Maniaci said if anyone were to kill Balistrieri, it would be the outfit
II. Organization and Leadership -The 1957 Apalachin meeting was due to Albert Anastasia taking forcible action which affected other bosses without telling them.
-Anastasia was killed due to the disappearance of two unnamed men
-John Alioto and Frank Balistrieri were going to go to Apalachin but didnt at the last moment. Also, attendance was not mandatory at Apalachin
-Maniaci didn't know too much about the commission or its structure, but he said it had around 7 members and though he doesn't know if there is a "boss of bosses," if anyone was it would be Giancana (clearly shows his midwest bias)
-Giancana had control over Madison, Rockford, and Springfield
-Balistrieri went to Chicago periodically for meetings with Giancana, Battaglia, or capodecina Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio. These meeting were at the underboss Sam Battaglia's farm
-occassionally, Balistrieri would meet with Alderisio, Battaglia, and Marshal Caifano in a Milwaukee hotel
-Ralph Capone of Mercer, Wisconsin isn't connected with Milwaukee or Chicago
-At one point, the Pfister hotel manager Marvin Billet made a deal and Kansas City member Sebastian "Buster" Balestrere (who was "imported" to Milwaukee along with Joseph Gurera for the purpose of shaking bookmakers and businessmen down) found out and this led to Balestrere having leverage over Billet. Eventually, the Fox Head Brewery bought a hotel in Jamiaca and Buster made Billet manager. Balistrieri asked Giancana if he wanted to "take over a large gambling casino in the hotel." Billet lost the managorial position and their plan didn't work.
-Balistrieri is involved in the Continental Music Company.
-The chicago outfit may have 500 members (this is wrong as they may not have had 100 at their peak, though it shows how the smaller families saw them)
-Sam Giancana is the boss, Sam "Teets" Battaglia is the underboss, and the following are capodecina: Felix Alderisio, Marshal Caifano, Frank LaPorte, Tony Maccalucci (ph), and Ross Prio
-Ross Prio is a north side leader who was originally in Jim DiGeorge's crew
-Maniaci heard complaints that people are upset in Chicago that only a few are making money. Also, they are upset that Sam Giancana "is too much of a playboy." CI also advised that John Cerone may be Giancana's successor. Cerone is very close to Tony Accardo
-Frank Balistrieri is related to former Kansas City boss James "Big Jim" Balistrieri (It appears his real last name was Balestrere, though his fathers last name was Balistrieri)
-Joseph Cusimano and Joe Jellosa (or Jealouso) are two Kansas City members who have visited Milwaukee in the past
-The Kansas City import Joseph Gurera was said to have killed two politicians (clearly referring to the infamous hit that left Charles Binaggio and Charles Gargotta dead)
-Balistrieri made Gurera a capodecina and Buster Balestrere worked under him. Both members went back to Kansas City in 1963 after pressure was put on Milwaukee for Anthony Biernat's murder
-On April 18, 1964 Peter Balistrieri's (Frank's brother) daughter married Leonard Drewek, a non-Italian. John Molle, Buster Balestrere, and Jim Balestrere (Not made) all went to the wedding
-Peter Balistrieri is a capodecina
-Rockford's boss is Joseph Zummutto, the underboss is Frank Bucemi, and the consigliere is Joseph Zitto. (FNU) Caltegerone is a member who's old and used to be close to Milwaukee capodecina Pasquale Migliaccio. Caltergerone may be a reference to Carl "Charlie Vince" Caltegerone
-Madison, Wisconsin has 10-15 members. The boss is Carl Caputo and Joseph "Joe Pizza Pie" Aiello is a member. Both are wealthy with real estate investments.
-Benny DeSalvo was a capodecina in Madison, but died in February of 1964 at 84 years old. He was buried in Chicago
-The following is the boss succession of Milwaukee: Vito Guardalabene (Nicola Gentile reported Joseph Vallone was the underboss in 1915) Peter Guardalabene (Son of Vito) Joseph "Big Joe" Amato Joseph Vallone (Boss from mid 1920's-mid 1930's) Joseph Gumina was the underboss to Vallone (also says Gumina was capodecina, maybe he controlled a crew along with being consigliere) Charles Zarcone was the consigliere Pasquale Migliaccio was a capodecina Migele Mineo was a capodecina Tom Lucua (ph) was a capodecina Sam Ferrara (Mid 1930's-1952) Joe Gumina was the underboss (again lists him as capo too) Charles Zarcone is listed as consigliere Pasquale Migliaccio was a capodecina Migele Mineo was a capodecina Joseph Caminiti is also a captain (may have been captain under Vallone as well) John Alioto (1952-1962) Joe Gumina was the underboss (again lists him as capo too) Migele Mineo was a capodecina John DiTrapani was a capodecina until his murder in 1954 Pasquale Migliaccio was a capodecina Frank Balistrieri was a capodecina as well Frank Balistrieri (1962-time document was typed) appears he had no underboss Charles Zarcone would be consigliere if Balistrieri had one, Maniaci doesn't know if he actually was though John Alioto was a capodecina and had the older members in his crew Peter Balistrieri was a capodecina "who has active members under his direction" -Older members are displeased with Balistrieri for not consulting any members and making Joseph Gurera (Kansas City) a capodecina instead of a local member
-Older members blame Balistrieri for the publicity LCN is getting due to Anthony Biernat's murder also there's resentment because no one is making money
-Maniaci said he wouldn't be surprised if they killed Balistrieri one day
-On January 4th, 14th, and the 31st Balistrieri held parties at Gallagher's restaurant in an attempt to get the opposite faction to like him. He planned to have another similar meeting a month later. He also assured the members that jobs would soon open up and he gave Vito Aiello, John Aiello, and Maniaci himself jobs at gambling places.
-Balistrieri is very cautious in regards to his personal movements
-Another CI reported the meeting at Gallagher's was to fix the bad feelings between Myron Jennaro and Paul Bogosian who are both associates of the Milwaukee family
-the following is the structure according to Maniaci: capo: boss sottocapo: Italian not Sicilian term for underboss "consuleri": (see previous comment about spelling) the consigliere is the counselor who is usually an older member capodecina: heads a crew, means "head of ten", but members sometimes have 50 members in their crew (or in some cases zero members) No mention of soldiers
-the following are popular terms used by members: Amico Nostro: friend of ours; used by fellow members to indicate someones a member avugad: means lawyer, Maniaci said there's no significance as a term in Milwaukee, but it probably was just not for low level members. Normally the avugad is a representative on the commission. for example, Milwaukee's avugad would've been Chicago's boss cumpare: means godfather; used to show closeness to someone don: Italian term of respect, not a mafia term onorata: means honor, Maniaci said he's never heard the mafia called onorata society which many sources have reported omerta: Maniaci said it's to express any qualities in the word "manly" sagia: "chair, committee of boss, underboss, consuleri [sic], and capodecina [sic] Tourna: general meeting where all members attend; for an important reason
-the following are members of Milwaukee identified by Maniaci: John Aiello: made under Ferrara Vito Aiello: Made under Ferrara John Alioto: Made under Guardalabene, was boss then capodecina Albert Albana: Suspect in Biernat's murder and was made a month after in January 1963 Mike Albano: Runs Angelo's Pizzaria, long time member
III. Membership -John Alioto did not make any members, but Vallone, Ferrara, and Balistrieri did. (which must've happened when the books were closed either suggesting the midwest didn't follow this or he did it on the sly)
-To be made originally, you had to be Sicilian, but they switched it to just be full Italian
-Members don't have to kill, but this has been a rule in the past, to be made
-Associates are proposed by a made member who knows the associates potential. In the past, the name would go around to all members and if they objected, he couldn't be made
-the associate could cooperate with law enforcement to be made
-in the past, all members had to be present at the initiation ceremonies (Maniaci calls them "tourna" meaning a general membership meeting). They no longer do that though
-The Biernat murderers were alleged to be Steve DeSalvo, Dominic Principe, and Albert Albana. DeSalvo contacted Biernat before the killing
-during the making ceremony, both the proposed member and his sponser's fingers are pricked and their blood is mixed. Then everyone present joins hands and a picture of a saint is burned (presumably in the proposed members hand) and the proposed member takes an oath in Italian to put the organization over everything including family and religion
-Members must obey all orders under threat of death
-No members can deal drugs or they will be killed
-Members need permission before engaging in something that may affect another member
-In the past disputes between members were taken before the "Sagia" (This is also called the Seggia, consiglio, or the Sicilian term consignu)
-The "Sagia'' was composed of a boss, underboss, "consuleri", and the capodecina (the term "consuleri" suggests multiple consigliere, but the document has used the singular and plural terms interchangeably. traditionally, the consiglio had multiple consigliere though. Also "capodecina" suggests one captain, which wouldn't really make sense in the context so it can be assumed they mean all capidecina in the family)
-Balistrieri no longer consults anyone except Chicago and only for big issues
-Maniaci named the following as members of the LCN family in Milwaukee (these are just from memory): John Aiello: Made under Ferrara Vito Aiello: Made under Ferrara; John Aiello's brother John Alioto: Made under Vito Guardalabene; capodecina Albert Albana: Made in early 1964, after the murder of Anthony Biernat Mike Albano: Runs Angelo's Pizzaria; long time member Tony Albano: Mike's uncle; retired Frank Balistrieri: boss; made with John DiTrapani; in Joe Ferrara's crew?; Made capodecina under John Alioto Joseph Balistrieri: Frank's dad; longtime member Peter Balistrieri: Frank's brother; capodecina Joseph Caminiti: Secretary treasurer of Local 257; made in Chicago under Joe Aiello; came to Milwaukee during Aiello-Capone war; bootlegger during prohibition; capodeinca under Vallone and Ferrara; Balistrieri's closest confidant even closer to Frank than Peter; Married to John Alioto's daughter Harry DeAngelo: Ferrara didn't like him; made in 1963; works sanitation or garbage department; 55 years old Carl Di Maggio: long time soldier Salvatore DiMaggio: Carlo's son; burglar eith extesnive record; made under Ferrara Benny DeSalvo: Made in 1963; nephew of old Madison boss Benny DeSalvo who died in 1964; lived in New York for a while but moved back to Milwaukee and went into construction Steve DeSalvo: Close to Balistrieri; primary suspect in Biernat murder; made one month after the murder Sam Ferrara: former boss; operates liquor store; inactive Joseph Gumina; underboss and capodecina under Vallone, Ferrara, and Alioto; he was a boxer after coming to America; bootlegger and then worked at A.O. Smith corp.; capable of murder; his son married Ferrara's daughter August Maniaci: Long time soldier Santo Marino: Brother-in-law to Ferrara; not active; operates tevern Migele "Mike" Mineo: Made in chicago; came to Milwaukee during Aiello-Capone war; capodecina under Vallone, Ferrara, and Alioto; employed by Schlitz Brewery John Pernice: former bootlegger; unemployed; not known to hold leadership position Dominic Principe: Another Biernat murder suspect; made following murder; lives in Illinois Joe Rizzo: inactive; worked as bartender in multiple places Vito Seidita: inactive; 55 years old; works for city of Milwaukee, maybe in street department Joseph Spero: inactive; works for city of Milwaukee, maybe in garbage department Charles Zarcone: consigliere during Vallone, Ferrara, and Alioto; may be consigliere under Balistrieri, but Maniaci doesnt know
Maniaci also listed the following as members affiliated with other families that live in Milwaukee: Frank LaGalbo: runs Chico's restaurant; was supposed to be killed along with DiTrapani; transfered to Chicago under Frank LaPorte John DiBella: member from Italy; close to Joe Bonanno; head of Grande Cheese Company Ralph "bottles" Capone: Chicago member; no importance in the underworld James DiGeorge: operates stock farm; owns land in Adams county, Wisconsin; former capodecina of North Chicago; years ago he was supposed to be killed, but got a pass; lives in exile in Wisconsin (likely shelved)
-Maniaci said that even your immidiate family may not know your made and it's typical for people to keep their sons out of the mafia
Maniaci named the following as people not members of Milwaukee, but closely associated with Milwaukee: Walter "Walter Blackie" Brocca: worked forvarious businesses on behalf of Frank Balistrieri Tony Bruno: No member of Bruno's family has ever been a member Sam Cefalu: gambler; lives at 1606 North Jackson; employed by Balistrieri Sam Cefalu: lives at 3461 North Cramer; not related to the other Sam Cefalu; worked for Balistrieri in a gambling office Anthony "Sheriff Cefalu" Cefalu: Brother of Sam (doesnt say which one); employed as gambler Gus Chiaverotti: Working for Frank Balistrieri in Continental Music Co.; closely associates with Balistrieri Sam DaQuista: No other DaQuista family member has been connected Joe Dentice: No Dentice has been a member Dominic Frinzi: Lawyer for Milwaukee mafia Nick Fugarino: closely associates with LCN Ted Gagliano: Gambler Nick Gentile (Doesnt specify if its Nicola Gentile, the one who wrote a book): not a member, but associates with LCN Joseph Guarniere: not a member Dr. Vito Guardalabene: Son of former boss Pete; no living Guardalabene is a member of mafia Danny Lampone: No Lampones are made Tony LaRosa: associated with LCN, not member Sam Librizzi: Gambling LCN associate Tony and Tom Machi: gamblers John Mandella: not a member Vincent Mercurio: not a member John Percurio: creditor to Frank Balistrieri who he's related to Tom Piscitello: not a member John and Joe Piscuine: Gamblers; no Piscuine's have been members Bruno Ramazini: former operator of Holiday House Frank "Big foot Hogan" Sansone: gambler; runs a restaurant Joe Sardino: no other Sardino's are connected with LCN Tom Sorce: Gambler Frank Stelloh: Close to Frank Balistrieri and Steve DeSalvo; non Italian, so couldn't be made Nick Tarantino: "very close" and trusted by Frank Balistrieri; couldn't be made because he helped police in a burglary investigation, this was well known to LCN John Triliegi: LCN associate Sam Vermiglio: former head of a counterfeit cigarette stamp ring; deals drugs; murdered John Volpe: runs the Holiday house
-An informant, possibly Maniaci, advised in 1964 tht Frank Balistrieri has a share in William Covelli's gambling operation (CI doesnt say, but Covelli may have been made)
-Aforementioned informant said Balistrieri also has a share in John Rizzo's bookmaking operation. Al Albana is the one who brings the money from Rizzo and Covelli to Balistrieri
-Both Maniaci and another CI reported that Balistrieri, Rizzo, and Covelli thought about buting a Key Club in Park City, Illinois. Maniaci said that if Balistrieri was serious, he would have to talk to Chicago first since its their terretory
-On April 5, 1964 CI (aforementioned informant, probably not Maniaci) advised that he expected Buster Balestrere and Joe Gurera were expected to come back to Milwaukee before June of 1964. They are coming back to act as hosts in a big crap game. Nick Tarantino would be a treasurer in the game. Frank Balistrieri will own the game and Buster Balestrere will be pit boss and host. The reasoning for starting the game was it would make a lot of money and wouldn't violate a federal law.
-Sam Cefalu and Sam Librizzi run a gambling office recieving a line from out of state, this is the only out of state line. Sam Dentice is a runner for the operation. Anthony "Sheriff Cefalu" Cefalu used to be involved, but is inactive
-a CI advised that 70% of gamblers are represented by Dominic Frinzi. Frinzi has represented Anthony Cefalu, Charles Piscuine, Robert Pick, William Cole, Steve Halmo, and Harvey Wach
-A CI advised on March 7, 1964 members of "Chicago and Miami outfits" (maybe meaning Tampa) were trying to build a motel in the bahamas. Balistrieri was going to have a 5% interest in it
-A different CI advised that Giancana was interested in a casino at Cat Cay in the Bahamas.
-Ben Novac owned the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami and was a close associate of Chicago and New York LCN. He applied for a license to operate a casino in the Bahamas in April of 1964 and was denied due to his financial ties to gangsters
-a CI (probably Maniaci) reported on April 3, 1964 that Balistrieri and former capodecina, but current soldier Joe Caminiti had a meeting where they discussed the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). Balistrieri said he helped get cheif of police Harold Breter into office. Blaistrieri said he felt the MPD was trying to put heat on him by arresting young people who frequented Gallagher's restaurant and they surveilled LCN members. Balistrieri met with inspector Kremsreiter who was the number 3 man in the MPD. Kremsreiter and Balistrieri met at Fazio's and had lunch. At lunch, Balistrieri suggested that the MPD should stay away from his kind and that there are not enough police to be just focusing on him. Balistrieri told Caminiti that he was happy with how it went.
-Frank Ranney is a secretary-treasurer of Teamsters local 200 and is very close to Balistrieri even working together at Atomic Industries, a bubble gum company
-An informant advised on March 24, 1964 that Balistrieri, Frank Ranney, and Joe Caminiti met at Fazio's. The informant said Balistrieri had "some form of domination over Ranney"
-One CI stated that Balistrieri is connected to Jimmy Hoffa and could get a multi-million dollar loan to build a motel in Milwaukee.
-Tony Volpe is connected with Chicago and has access to the money from the welfare and pension fund of the teamster union in Chicago and that many Las Vegas casinos have been financed with the money.
-On April 3, 1964, a CI (or wiretap) reported that Joe Caminiti and Frank Balistrieri had a meeting where they discussed "the disposition of money supplied by the Teamsters to Frank Balistrieri for distribution to some of the candidates for Alderman in the City of Milwaukee." Caminiti told Balistrieri he'll advise the candidates that they are backed by the teamsters.
-During the same meeting Caminiti insuled Robert Kennedy saying he operated a gestapo. They also talked about a speech Congressman Alvin O'Konski gave talking good about Jimmy Hoffa. The Teamsters gave money to O'Konski and Senator Morse (ph) for political purposes
-Caminiti said Robert Kennedy infringes on civil liberties, this was after O'Konski told him about an investigation coming by the DOJ
-Caminiti also said that the Teamsters had trouble getting the poney to pay for Jimmy Hoffa's legal expenses. Out of 35 locals in Wisconsin, 20 wouldn't pass anything in support of paying. Because of this, they decided they would take the money out of the joint counsil, meaning every member will pay .05-.10 cents
-Joe Caminiti told Frank Balistrieri that Frank Ranney said to be careful giving money to Alderman Allen L. Calhoun. This was due to when Calhoun once moved districts, he came into conflict with Al Hass who was close to the Milwaukee LCN. Balistrieri already knew and met with Calhoun and told him that Hass is who they're most loyal too, but they will support whoever won. Balistrieri gave cash to Calhoun as an unreported donation
-Balistrieri gave a donation to Art Else, who's opponent was Henry Maier. Balistrieri gave Else the donation at Gallagher's restaurant.
-Angelo Provinzano was a member of the city service commission who was mobbed up. Balistrieri gave money to Provinzano who then donated money to mob backed candidates. Provinzano donated $995 to mayor Henry Maier. Provinzano also was used in the past to get Italians in positions in the city government and police department. Informant said Provinzano wasn't made
-On April 17, 1964, Dominic Frinzi (mob attorney) was going to run for governor and the mafia backed him. Frinzi himself wasn't confident he could win, but it would give him publicity which he could later use to become a judge
-Anthony Biernat was found buried in a cellar of an abandoned farm sprinkled with lime, but it wasn't the right kind which would disintegrate a body
-Frank Balistrieri partly owns The Pitch Specialty Co. Balistrieri's relative Peter Picciuro operated the business. His father John Picciuro also has a piece or co-owns it.
-Carl Dentice has a jukebox operation in his name for Frank Balistrieri
-Sam Dentice got a jukebox license under his name for Balistrieri
-Peter Sciotino's bakery was targeted in a bombing because of Balistrieri's shakedown campaign. Sciortino was personally connected to Joe Bonanno in some way and ended up not having to pay. Sciortino himself wasn't a LCN member
-Balistrieri's shakedown campaign began in the summer of 1962 with Joseph Gurera and Buster Balestrere shaking businessmen and gamblers down. Some people did resist so Balistrieri wanted to send a message. They were going to kill either Bill Cole or Bobby Pick, but when LE found out they stopped trying.
-An informant though Tony LaRosa might be killed because it was said the Milwaukee family heard he gave information to LE
-In may of 1964, an informant said that Steve DeSalvo and Frank Stelloh now operated as musclemen for Balistrieri. They even planned to murder someone who the informant didn't know.
-The informant thought the murder target may have been Izzy Tocco who was a booker for Sam Cefalu and got in trouble, but the informant thought that this would be too little a reason to murder someone
-A different informant supplied information suggesting the murder target may be Joe Beck. Beck was making complaints against the Continental Sales Co. Balistrieri made comments to the acting manager Gus Chiaverotti where he expressed his anger against Beck.
-An informant advised on April 10, 1964 that he heard a story about a Milwaukee gangster being offered $5,000 by the Chicago LCN "to make a hit" on a prominent businessman who was made. The reasoning was because the man owed the Chicago family between $18,000-$20,000. The man either stole the money or bet and lost the outfit's money

My partner and I split about 2 months ago. We were together 13 years. I especially feel lonely because he has a giant family to support him and take his mind off of it. I have nobody. I wish I still had my dog but he passed last summer and I'm not in the position to adopt a new fur friend right now.
All I do is go to work and come home. I havent even told my coworkers about the breakup.
There was a girl I bumped into at the liquor store last weekend wearing a sublime shirt and she looked like the kind of girl I would want to be friends with but I was too isolated within myself to talk to her.
I feel so hopeless and my house is a mess. Most of the things that need done are "manly" type chores and I dont know where to even start. I feel helpless.
I stopped taking my meds. I've been binge eating and drinking too much.

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Note: Not all products arrive in all stores at the same time and some might only be available regionally. Please contact your local store for product stock questions and estimated arrival dates.
There were a few new May products that were VERY limited and may no longer be available in stores as of June (Beach Day Gummy Candy, Madagascar Vanilla Bean Crème Fraîche, S'mores Clusters). 😔
Please leave a comment if you've seen a new or seasonal item from May that's not listed here!
As always, please upvote this post if you find the monthly product list Megathreads helpful to you.
🆕 New for May 2023 (some may have shown up end of April or beginning of June)

• Aura Berry Ginger Collagen Tea - $2.99
• Beach Day Gummy Candy (Very Limited) - $1.99
• Blueberry Preserves, Organic (Limited Availability) - $4.49
• Brazil Nut Body Wash (Limited Availability) - $5.99
• Breaded Cheddar Cheese Curds - $4.99
• Black Tea + Lemon Cold Brew Iced Tea, 18 Tea Bags - $2.69
• Campanology Peach Ale (Limited Availability, YMMV) - $7.99
• Chocolatey Coated Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Bites
• Coffee Syrup (not new, but hasn’t been around for years - has anybody seen this?) - $4.49
• Crunchy Chili Onion Hummus - $3.99
• Diamond Crystal Salt Co. Kosher Salt Flakes - $8.99
• Diamond Reserve Pauillac, YMMV - $19.99
• Donuts Forever! Donut Shaped Chocolate Truffles - $4.49
• El Cortijo Dorado Cow’s and Sheep’s Milk Cheese
• Enchanted Jangle - $4.49
• French Heritage Orange Rind Saint Paulin Cheese (May’s Spotlight Cheese) - $3.99
• Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins - $4.99 for 4
• Grilled Chili Lime Chicken Strips (refrigerated, not sure if new, or new in some regions?)
• GT’s ALIVE Ancient Mushroom Elixir - Lemon Lime
• Madagascar Vanilla Bean Crème Fraîche (Limited Availability) - $3.99
• Mafalda Corta Pasta Macaroni Product (Limited Availability) - $2.49
• Milk Chocolate Bar with Corn Flakes - $2.99
• Mini (Almost) Everything Bagel Sandwich Crackers with Cream Cheese Filling
• Oat Chocolate Bars with Crispy Rice & Cocoa Nibs - $2.49
• Organic Blueberry Preserves (Limited Availability) - $4.49
• Organic Chiapas Mexico Small Lot Coffee (not new, but hasn’t been available in years) - $10.99
• Organic Mafalda Corta Pasta (Limited Availability) - $2.49
• Organic Plain Cream Cheese Spread - $3.49
• Pink Insulated Bag - $7.99
• Raspberry Icelandic Style Skyr Lowfat Yogurt
• Salted Caramel + Pistachio Scented Candle (Limited Availability) - $5.99
• Shortcake Biscuits (not new, but new to some regions) - $4.49
• S’mores Clusters - (Very Limited Availability, no longer available) - $3.99
• Spicy Honey Sauce (bigger 12 oz. bottle is new, no longer organic) - $4.99
• Super Sweet Marzanino Whole Peeled Tomatoes in Tomato Juice
• Sweet & Salty Umami Crunchies Rice Snackers - $2.99
• Trio of Soft Licorice Twists (Raspberry, Mango, and Green Apple)
• Whole Grain Waffles - $2.69

Not new but may be changing suppliers or packaging in some regions, YMMV - please comment with your region if you’ve noticed new packaging for the Pesto, Pizza Sauce, Tabouli, or Tzatziki):

• Balsamic Glaze
• Pesto Genovese (refrigerated)
• Pizza Sauce (refrigerated)
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
• Tabouli (I think they spell it Tabbouli)
• Tzatziki

🌷Returning Spring & Seasonal Limited Items that returned in April / May / June:

• BBQ & Black Pepper Toscano Chopped Salad
• Blueberry Dreams Frozen Dessert Bars
• Blueberry Fields Hard Cheese - $4.99
• Body Essence Aloe Vera Gel - $3.49 (is this new or returning?)
• Brazil Nut Body Butter
• Brazil Nut Body Scrub
• Brie Cheese with WIld Mushrooms - $11.99/lb.
• Brie Cheese with Green Peppercorns - 11.99/lb.
• Cajun Style Alfredo Sauce -$3.99
• California Sun-Dried Tomatoes - $2.49
• Cheddar Cheese with Scotch Bonnet Chili and Red Peppers
• Chive Cheddar Cheese - is this seasonal?
• Chocolate Fudge Oat Bars Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
• Coconut Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate - $5.99
• Coffee Bean Mini Hold the Cone! Ice Cream Cones - $3.79
• Cold Brew Black Tea Concentrate (Organic) - $4.99
• Cold Brew Coffee Bags - $7.99
• Crunchy Jalapeno Lime & Onion - $4.29
• Dark Chocolate Watermelon Sticks - $3.49
• Dill Pickle Mustard - $1.99
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Snackers - $3.99 (not sure if seasonal or back in stock after TOS?)
• Glazed Sour Cream Donuts
• Grapefruit Scented Candle
• Halloumi Cheese (not sure if seasonal or returning after TOS) - $5.99
• Horchata Inspired Ice Cream
• Jalapeño Limeade Lime Juice Beverage (shelf stable) - $2.29
• Just The Lobsters Lobster Shaped Soft & Chewy Gummy Candy
• Key Lime Pie (frozen) - $5.99
• Mango Flavored Black Tea
• Mango Jicama Slaw - $5.49
• Marshmallows - $2.99
• Mini Cheesecake Cones - $4.29
• Mini Chocolate Mousse Flowers
• Organic Poppy Seed Dressing
• Organic Sugar Cones - $2.99
• Out Of This World Ice Pops
• Patio Potato Chips - $2.69
• Peaches & Cream Tarte (frozen) - $5.99
• Peanut Butter Caramel Coated Popcorn - $3.79 (not sure if seasonal or back in stock after TOS)
• Peonies (Peony Flowers) - $9.99, YMMV
• Peony Blossom Candle - $3.99
• Peony Blossom Foaming Hand Soap - $2.99
• Pink & Whites Dark Chocolate Bar - $2.99
• Pink & Whites Shortbread Cookies with Yogurt Coating and Sprinkles - $4.49
• Portuguese Custard Tarts - $2.99
• Salt Water Taffy
• Seasoning In A Pickle Seasoning Blend - $2.49
• Shortcake Biscuits (bakery) - $4.49 (may be new in some regions, and returning seasonal in other regions)
• Sparkling Strawberry Juice Beverage - is this seasonal or year-round, I thought it was year-round but the Watermelon one is seasonal? - $3.99
• Sparkling Watermelon Juice Beverage - $3.99
• Spicy Buffalo Cheddar
• Spicy Mango Lemonade (refrigerated) - $3.29
• Strawberry Basil Vinaigrette - $3.99
• Strawberry & Jalapeno Crisps - $3.99
• Strawberry Lemonade Joe-Joe’s Sandwich Creme Cookies - $3.49
• Strawberry Shortcake Sandwich Cookies
• Strawberry & Vanilla Flavored Yogurt Pretzels
• Sweet Basil Foaming Hand Soap - $2.99
• Sweet Corn, Burrata & Basil Ravioli
• These Sprinkles Walk Into A Sandwich Cookie - $3.49
• Tomato Ketchup with Black Summer Truffle - $3.49
• Tres Leches Cake (frozen) - $7.99
• Truffle Aioli
• Truffle Flavored BBQ Sauce - $3.49
• Ube Ice Cream - $3.79
• Ube Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix - $3.99
• Ube Pretzels
• Ube Spread - $3.99
• Ube Tea Cookies Purple Yam Shortbread Cookies - $4.49
• Watermelon Cold Pressed Juice - $2.99
• Watermelon Cucumber Cooler Juice Beverage - $3.49
• Watermelon Lemonade Sparkling Water - $3.49
• Watermelon & Peach Macarons - $5.49
• When life Gives you Lemons Make Ice Cream - $3.79
• White Stilton Cheese with Mango & Ginger - $11.99/lb
• Wildberry Cheesecake Ice Cream - $3.79

Back In Stock after being Temporarily Out Of Stock (YMMV, may not be back in all regions):

• Bamba with Hazelnut Creme Filling
• Crispy Crunchy Mochi Rice Nuggets
• Crispy Crunchy Spicy Mochi Rice Nuggets
• Daily Facial Sunscreen
• Mee Krob Snackers
• Salsa De Cacahuate
• Savory Banana & Nuts Trek Mix - I thought this was discontinued, but may be back?
• Squiggly Knife Cut Noodles
• Tangy Turtles Tart & Sweet Gummy Candy

Temporarily Out Of Stock in some regions, YMMV:

• Candy Coated Chocolate Peanuts
• Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips
• Instant Cold Brew Coffee has been recalled
• Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings
• Steamed Pork & Ginger Soup Dumplings
• Sweet & Salty Umami Rice Crunchies
• Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes
• White Miso Paste?

Soon-To-Be-Discontinued:

• Cookie Butter Sandwich Cookies - can anybody please confirm if these are being discontinued or not?
• Golden Berry Blend (Raisins, Cranberry, Blueberries)

​

• Discontinued in 2023:
• Arugula & Parmigiano Reggiano Ravioli
• Bamba with Hazelnut Creme Filling is still showing as “discontinued” in California stores, other regions may vary, supposed to be returning to Northeast region in May
• Big Soft Pretzels
• Chili Sesame Oil
• Cilantro and Jalapeño Hummus
• Classic Hummus
• Cocoa & Sea Salt Instant Oatmeal
• Coconut Cashews
• Corn Poblano Chowder
• Dark Russet Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips discontinued in California only
• Dried Bing Cherries
• Grass Fed Angus Beef Burgers
• Herbed Tahini Sauce
• Hi-Protein Veggie Burger
• Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks
• Just… Grilled Chicken Strips
• Glucosamine Chondroitin for Dogs
• Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Ravioli
• Multigrain Toaster Waffles - replaced with Whole Grain Waffles
• Organic Valencia Crunchy Salted Peanut Butter
• Ricotta & Lemon Zest Ravioli
• Savory Banana & Nuts Trek Mix
• Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausage
• Spicy Hummus Dip
• Uncooked Ground Buffalo Burgers ?
• Vegan Ranch Crunch Salad Kit

🔮 Sneak Peaks rumored to be coming sometime in 2023:

• Golden Caramel Swirl Ice Cream (not new, but returning previously discontinued product)
• Organic Midnight Moo Chocolate Syrup - looks like it might be from a new supplier?
• Portuguese Bacalhau Pie (Tarte de Bacalhau)
• S’mores Ice Cream
• Taco Gouda Cheese
• Tiny Fruity Cuties Sweetened Corn & Oat Cereal

I am a bakery manager at a major grocery store . I am young and new for my position only being with the company a year. I been having issues with my team and store manager having my back . My team isn’t really much of a team… my opener does close to nothing in their shifts, taking 30 minute breaks then going home. Leaving early, calling off at least once a month . My cakes does whatever, coming late , long lunches , always disappearing on me , does the bare minimum.
Those two do nothing to help me, while I have my own things to do and plug in to finish what they didn’t do. I have tried going to my store manager but they don’t seem to have my back. They ignore what I say, expecting me to still just get it done, rather than write them up , or coach them. Typically I work 6 days , most days 12 hours.
I have asked for a transfer, but was told that they don’t want to lose me so they rather remove the issue . It’s been months n I see no change. In fact it’s worse now, I would take pictures, to show my issues but now I gave up on saying anything nothing get done when I do. When questioning them about why they didn’t finish the task , they ran to my boss saying I went off. Rather than talk to me about changes in scheduling and such they run to my boss . Leaving me clueless. Sometimes it feels like they have them on speed dial cause no matter what I say . It’s always them running to the boss .
I would say, I am not a hard boss. I never yell, I never push on them . I try to reward them and show them appreciation in hopes to lift them up to work . I try the positive way. I would buy flowers for them with a card . Now if I change my tone , change the way I talk . They say I have an attitude , I went off. So to avoid it, I say nothing . I had question one of them about changing the way they work . She was like I can’t do this with you , walking away . I said okay , I was just asking you . She yelled at me and said she’s leaving. I told her bye , also don’t yell at me .
So in my situation what more can I do , as a manager what can I do to my team to get them to work. What can I say . What would you do ? How can I be harder without them getting me in trouble ?

I (20M) work in a liquor store in Toronto. One day a few weeks ago, some sketchy guy came in and asked my coworker to give him change for a $100 bill. My coworker refused, and then the guy just started ranting on and on indiscernibly...so I walked up to my cash register and opened up the till, to distract him away from my coworker. The crazy dude came to me and kept asking me to give him change for his bill, and I just kept telling him that we don't do that. Finally he just asked me (paraphrasing here) "is that what your parents taught you back in Korea?" (because I'm Korean). This dude then went on a rant about Koreans. Then our Black security guard walked up to him and told him to shut it, and the sketchy guy started outright yelling about Black people and "african tribes" and all that racist shit. It was awful. When he started harassing our security guard, I told him "that's enough - get out" but I didn't say it loudly enough for anyone to hear me. I should've been more aggressive.
Eventually the guy did leave, and I walked up to the security guard and told him "sorry you had to hear all that". The guard just brushed it off and told me that he was upset because I had to hear all that racist stuff about Koreans.
It was just another day at work - dealing with a few weirdos here and there. I regret not being more forceful tbh.

I really just want to get this out because I am a liar and a wretch.
I posted under my regular account a month ago, and removed it immediately after realizing I could be identified based on other posts or comments by someone I know. And... I don't want that.
But one thing I do want, is for myself and everyone in this community to know that I am an alcoholic. I am just addicted. I read your guys' posts every single day and I feel proud of you all. And then I go and have a drink.
I grew up in a conservative muslim family. I drank once in high school. In college, I looked older and all of my friends were in their 20s so I've been to bars since I was 19. I partied like the regular party-scene college kid. Never severely.
But now I'm 27. Just under four years ago I met the greatest woman in the world. Kind, beautiful, soft, and caring. Less than a year into that relationship I quit smoking cigarettes, because I didn't want to smoke forever like my pops and wanted to spend a long time with this girl. But not smoking cigs for the last three years... I've devolved into daily drinking. Even when I had no money I'd spend my last dollars at the liquor store.
And when my lady caught on, I started doing it in secret. "Are you drunk?" "No." Lying my fucking ass off. I'd wake up with no memory of the previous night. One night I blew up at her best friend who I've known for years, and who introduced us. I was hammered. My partner was so sad. She was scared at who I suddenly became when I was angry. I used to be a gentle soul, and that all unraveled for the first time last fall.
On April 20th of this year I decided to really, really quit drinking. I lasted two weeks. A secret shooter or few here and there while bike riding, going for a walk, etc. I convinced myself it wasn't that bad. This past weekend, I had a beer Friday with the guys, and my lady was there, and I told her it's okay, I've been good. Little did she know I was two double shots of vodka in as well. And then Saturday night, fuck. I refused a drink someone offered me (even though I slammed a half pint of vodka earlier). Two hours later that same friend bought shots for everyone. I was already stoned from weed, but third shot in, I became that person my girlfriend resented.
We went home. At 4am, while we're all merrily eating food after a night of celebrating someone's accomplishment, I started going off at that person. My partner was silent. Next morning I left early to avoid shame but I saw her and kissed her goodbye. Went to a friend's. Spent the whole day away. My partner didn't talk to me at all as she was spending time with her sibling.
When she spoke to me, she told me I was terrifying. I'm not a yeller. But apparently I have a very quiet, serious and scary tone when I'm angry drunk. And I've been depressed for the last two days. I rode a bike home from work today and passed by several liquor stores, tempted. But I didn't.
I've been messing everything up. I was blessed with a 6 figure job not long ago and my shifty drinking habits put me in shit there. I'm ruining my chance at a future with this incredible woman. I'm out of shape. I'm not sure how this happened to me, or why I started this, or how I couldn't stop.
But I'm two days away from that man that I hate. And damnit folks,
IWNDWYT.
I love you all. Pray for me.