ODDS ENDS

Blog number eighty-nine                                  09 May 2007

In one of my earlier BLOGS, I promised that if I remembered the name of the park in Los Angeles near the place that sold only cups of coffee and donuts - a cup and a donut for 10 cents in 1955, I would tell you the name of the park.  It was famous for soap box orators.  I watched them several times.  Very interesting.  They were usually - if not always, heckled.  The name of the park was, "MacArthur Park."  So that's that.

We went to Chandler today and Mom (Teresa) bought some coffee flavored fudge bars.  Driving home, she tried one and said they were too sweet.  A short time later, thinking on it, I asked her to dig one out for me.  When she did, I noticed the top had been bitten off.  It struck me right then that if someone sold fudge bars with what looked like a bite taken out of one side, I think they would sell very well.  Kids would love them - right?  Hell, I would buy them.  They would be neat and neatness counts.

A couple of days later we were shopping at Safeway and walking by the freezer section, I happened to notice the boxes of ice cream bars and viola!  The pictures on the box portrayed ice cream bars with a bite taken out.  Now, if that is an attractive way of showing pictures of ice cream bars, why not have the actual bars look like that? 

I wish I worked for Ben and Jerry's so I could get a bonus for suggesting that.

On the last page of Sport's Illustrated magazine is a column by Rich Reilly.  He recently published a book of his columns called, "Hate Mail From Cheerleaders."  The title comes from mail he received after writing a column saying that cheerleading was not a sport.  Anyhow, he is a funny and very insightful writer.  His columns are not about sports, but about people that have something to do with different sports.  I have read several columnists over the years and he is by far the best.  I recommend him highly.  I like witty people.  I like intelligent people. 

I was watching "Cops" the other night and they were at a house where a group of people from AA were helping a woman move from her house while the cops were there to make sure it was a peaceful move.  She constantly badmouthed her ex, and at one point she said, "Tell them how you prostituted me."

She told her ex that he ought to get religion like she did and join AA.  He told her she should quit drinking.  She replied that she did quit, that she didn't have any problem quitting drinking - that she had done it many times.  She didn't realize the humor of what she said.  She was serious.  She was a terror.