1966 Volvo: 2,700,000 miles!

New car dealers probably would shudder in fear if they heard the names Irv Gordon, Alvin Elam, Pete Biro, and Rebekah O’Connell. Those four own cars that have at least 231,000 miles on them and are four reasons why the car service centers mentioned in the previous blog are doing a great business during the recession.

Gordon’s story is the most impressive as he drives a 1966 Volvo that he bought new and so far has driven it an astounding 2,700,000 miles according to a recent story by William Jeanes, former publisher of Road and Track.. The car is currently in the shop getting its carburetors rebuilt which Gordon says is important to have done "every 900,000 miles whether they need it or not."

Elam, Biro, and O’Connell aren’t yet in Gordon’s league for getting maximum mileage out of their cars but Elam has coaxed 447,000 miles out of his 1992 Toyota Camry, Biro has 231,000 on his 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and O’Connell has 307,000 on her 1997 Honda Civic.

They all agree on one thing: It is extremely important to read the owner’s manual of your car and follow all the instructions on maintenance. Gordon mentions that finding a good mechanic is also essential along with keeping your car clean. He says a good mechanic will take you more serious if your car is clean and well maintained than if it is dirty and filled with trash.

So, why keep a car so long and run up all those miles? If you look at the numbers, it can save you a lot of money over buying a new car. If you drive 22,500 miles per year (average is 15,000) you will cover 112,500 miles in 5 years. Normal maintenance cost during that time is about $3,500 or $700 per year. If you bought a new car for $20,000 and financed $18,000 of it at 7% for 48 months, your payments would be $5,160 a year plus maintenance costs.

When I look at those numbers, my old ‘98 with 116,000 miles looks pretty good. So far, I have taken good care of it so maybe I can get a few hundred thousand miles on it. In the current economy, I’m certainly not in the mood to be buying a new car.

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Some businesses doing well

A recent AARP Bulletin mentions four businesses that are doing well in spite of the recession. They are car service centers, beauty schools, shoe repair shops, and thrift stores.

Beauty school sounds like an up to date version of the old barber colleges where a guy could get a haircut for free while a barber wannabe experimented on his head with what he learned in the latest chapter of his barbering textbook. Hmmmm, how about a flat top today, sir?

A beauty school in New York is packing them in with a $7.50 shampoo, cut, and blow dry. That’s a helluva deal as long as you don’t come out looking like Larry of The Three Stooges.

Shoe repair shops seem like a no-brainer to have increased business in hard times. During the Depression of the 1930s, there were 100,000 shoe repair shops in the US. Now, there are 7,000 and these guys are BUSY! One guy says his normal workload has gone from 200 pairs a week with a three day wait to 250 pairs and a 10 day wait. Repairing Gucci shoes used to be unheard of, now it is common.

Thrift shops are doing a land office business. Overpriced junk like Prada handbags that sell new for $700-$800 at Nordstrom’s, can be had for under $200 at the thrifts. The 99 cent stores also offer good deals on a lot of items that they buy up as overstocks or obsoletes.

There are not a lot of new cars flying out of the showrooms these days but the repair shops are doing great as many people are repairing the old heap in an effort to keep it rolling until better times. I called Sun Devil Auto yesterday for an appointment and was told they are booked until Monday. Another location had one appointment available for tomorrow which I quickly snatched. I wonder if I’ll meet the guy who wears the Gucci shoes while I’m there.

I don’t have any information on how the dental colleges are doing. They used to give free dental work and I imagine they are getting extra patients now but I don’t recommend they wait for my business. I have to draw the line somewhere; I don’t want amateurs mangling my molars!

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The "Guerilla Queer Bar"

There is a gay organization in some cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Detroit, called the Guerilla Queer Bar. It is comprised of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender people and their goal is to gather all their members, usually 100 to 200, and take over a traditionally straight bar in their city for one night every month.

The group is not confrontational and when they make their decision which popular straight bar they will visit, they always contact the bar owner and manager for his or her reaction. Usually straight friends accompany the group and there have been no reports of violence, so far. One male member stated that "A lot of people have never been around a lot of queer people before and they were fascinated." Really? About what? Is it that fascinating in the 21st century to see a man wearing a blue sequined dress? Is that any more fascinating than to see teen age boys punch holes the size of quarters in their ear lobes? That’s typical stuff these days.

I have nothing against these people if they want to take over a straight bar once a month in some large city. I’m sure the bars that are not doing much business are glad to have a couple hundred paying customers pack their place. Since being gay is still a stigma in many areas, I guess they just want to appear a bit more mainstream and encourage acceptance of their lifestyle within the straight community.

I haven’t heard of a Guerilla Queer Bar in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area but an incident a couple of years ago in Scottsdale resulted in Anderson’s Fifth Estate lounge going gay. As far as a couple hundred gay people taking over a straight bar for the night in Scottsdale, I would have concerns. With the bar scene being what it is in Scottsdale and the various outbreaks of violence over the years relating to gay customers, there could be some difficulty. On the other hand, nothing major has happened in other cities, so maybe that would be the case here. We may find out.

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"LovRub" and Coke

That's Barb and me presenting the Passover Coke to Mary (left) at Randy's in Scottsdale.

JUST OBSERVING: I saw an ad on television last night that has to be close to the Cialis ads for humor. Most of you know the Cialis ads with the old guys and their gals "getting IT on" and relaxing at sunset in their seaside bathtubs. If you haven’t seen the ads, just tune in to the Golf Channel. They show them all day long and, although several of us on the blogs play golf together, I haven’t met anyone, male or female, who owns one of those bathtubs.

Anyway, last night I saw an ad for something called "LovRub." A good looking guy and gal are eyeing each other at a staff meeting of some company and as the voice over pitches us on the product benefits, we see the aforementioned couple emerging from behind a door labeled "supply room." The guy is tightening his belt and straightening his tie while the gal is tucking in her blouse. Whoa!

"LovRub" must be quite a product. The good news is I didn’t hear one word about side effects being blindness, heart attack, or death and the young couple looked happy as hell. The bad news is that I didn’t hear where I could buy the stuff!

MOVING ON: We discussed "Passover Coke" during April and I had mentioned that Safeway was carrying it. I based that on seeing the stuff at my local Safeway in north Scottsdale. I assumed that with the Jewish population in Scottsdale, and with Safeway being a chain, all the Safeways in the area would have the sucrose Coke but I was incorrect.

I found that out when reader "Mary" drove to several Safeways in search of the good stuff and couldn’t find it. Since I am a sympathetic guy and am fond of the lovely Mary, I offered to present her with a free two liter bottle of Passover Coke to at least partially compensate her for her trouble. Below is the presentation ceremony made at Randy’s Restaurant in Scottsdale. Notice the yellow bottle cap which ensures that the Coke is genuine Passover Coke.

That's Barb and me presenting the Passover Coke to Mary (left) at Randy's in Scottsdale.

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Red Cross vital in WWII victory

With Memorial Day, it is appropriate to discuss the work of a group of women who contributed mightily to the United States’ war effort during World War II. I’m referring to the women of the Red Cross.
For the many women who stayed on the home front and did not work in industry, the Red Cross was a way to get involved with the war. Many Red Cross volunteers also went overseas and by the end of the war, 7,000 Red Cross "girls" had served in that capacity.

More than 3.5 million women joined the Red Cross in the U. S. pulling such duties as assisting medical personnel in hospitals and boosting the morale of patients. They also rolled millions of bandages for military hospitals at home and abroad, put together food packages for POWs, and produced care packages for soldiers. They were also vital in collecting blood and plasma and shipping it to hospitals to care for the wounded.

The 7,000 volunteers who went overseas staffed 1,800 clubs near wherever the troops were stationed. Some of the Red Cross women ran "clubmobiles" which were traveling kitchens from which they made coffee, doughnuts, and any other available refreshments. These vehicles followed the men to the front on all major campaigns and as a result, 29 Red Cross women were killed while on duty overseas.

The women of the Red Cross were unique compared to their counterparts in the military branches. To be a member of the Red Cross, they had to have a college degree and be at least 25 years old. Some thought that for women with such qualifications to be serving coffee and doughnuts and organizing dances was a waste of their skills. However, it was the 1940s and to join the Red Cross meant it was an opportunity for some adventure never before available to women. The Red Cross and the USO were the only organizations sent overseas that were not under the tight regulation of military discipline.

One Red Cross girl wrote home to her mother telling of the kick the soldiers got out of the "little red and white apron you made." "Just like home," they say. In some ways, that was the main mission of the Red Cross women. They were to bring the men a little bit of home.

Gysella Simon, a Red Cross club director in England, wrote to a friend back home on May 21,1944 about the changes she saw in herself since she joined the Red Cross. She seemed to speak for most of the women who served overseas during World War II.: "At last, here in this forgotten place, I have found myself....I have lived with men preparing for combat..... and wonder why I didn’t get into this sort of work sooner.....I am doing a real worthwhile thing and it makes me glow with satisfaction. I should like to share this feeling with every American girl back home."

(Some of the information in this column was obtained from "Our Mother's War" by Emily Yellin, 2004.

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Sheriff Joe versus Wilcox

I love it when someone like County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox criticizes the food and cleanliness of Sheriff Joe’s prison kitchen. Montini reports today that the sheriff’s kitchen gets good reports while her restaurant is a dump. Her place “has been savaged by inspectors for everything from ‘toxic materials not properly labeled to food, drink, and/or ice not protected from cross contamination to sewage not properly disposed of.’ ” Why is this joint not being closed down by the county? I know, it’s a rhetorical question.

Wilcox doesn’t like Joe’s illegal immigration tactics either. How dare he obey immigration laws that he was elected to enforce! She also doesn’t like it that the prisoners in the sheriff’s jail are threatening a hunger strike because the food tastes bad. It may taste bad but a nutritionist has determined that it is healthy. That’s more than we can say about Wilcox’s kitchen.

I guess the bad guys miss their Big Macs and fries. Too bad, fellas. You should have considered that before you decided to break the law and land in Joe’s slammer. The good news for you is that the jail meals now cost 60 cents per day instead of the former 34 cents. Who said the sheriff has no compassion?

I wonder if the crooks even think about jail when they perform a crime. From some of the stories I read, these guys are not too smart which tells me they figure they can get away with anything. Hell, why work when you can steal? Imagine their surprise after they hold up some poor working guy trying to provide for his family or knock off a Circle K and in the process shoot some poor sap working there as a second job to pay his tuition. Suddenly, the big. black, sinister, Sheriff’s Ford arrives and they are hauled off to Durango muttering “Damn, Leroy! Where did we screw up!”

People like Wilcox and Montini love to criticize law enforcement but I never hear them support the VICTIMS of crime. They would rather complain about jail conditions for the crooks who ruined the victim’s lives. And we are supposed to worry about whether jail food “tastes bad? Give me a break! To paraphrase ex-president Clinton: “It’s jail, stupid!”

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Recession? What Recession?

I love this time of year. As soon as the first 100 degree day hits, my Illinois neighbors and their yapping little dog point the hood ornament north and scurry home to the land of Lincoln. Green fees at the golf courses get lower as temperatures get higher and if you can bear the heat, that is a good deal. Just be sure you have plenty of ice. The restaurants are empty, as are the resorts, so they offer summer deals to entice you to visit them. Throw in recession deals and you can have a nice time in Scottsdale this summer if you have at least a few bucks.

Speaking of the recession, if watching activity in parts of Scottsdale and Fountain Hills is any indication, you wouldn’t notice much difference in lifestyles because of the economy, particularly with cars. There has always been the array of new Mercedes, BMW’s, Lexus’s and other boring, highly financed luxury cars. Now, I am seeing quite a few Bentley’s and Maserati’s driving around, especially in DC Ranch and Silverleaf. I can’t say how much equity is in those cars or whether they are leased, but they are there.

CityNorth is in Phoenix on the western edge of Scottsdale. In a recent review of the Ocean Prime restaurant there, Howard Seftel mentioned the place was crowded with people sipping $13 drinks, eating $15 tuna tartare, $31 salmon, and $43 steaks. No recession action there. They also don’t have to worry about ever seeing me; not my kind of place.

For those who don’t have the bucks for fancy cars and restaurants, the good news is you can still fire up the old heap and eat cheap in the Scottsdale area if you know where to go. I have been going to Randy’s at Chaparral and Hayden for 20 years and recommend it highly, especially for breakfast. Goldman’s Deli at Hayden and Indian Bend is also a good no frills place that serves all three meals. The Wandering Horse Café in the Casino AZ at Indian Bend and the 101 has reasonable prices and good specials on a varied menu. McDonald’s still has their $1.00 menu where you can get a doubleburger, fries, and a Coke for $3. As far as good happy hour places, our friends at Cien Agaves on 1st Avenue just east of Scottsdale Road have good deals on drinks and food.

The recession has hit some folks harder than others. As you can see above, there are ways for you to get out of the house for an evening if you look around. Now, if only we had those 12 cent White Castle burger joints I grew up with. Their slogan was "Buy ‘em by the sack." THOSE were a good deal.

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Hitchcock, PSYCHO, and Phoenix

ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOLDING THE CLAPPER BOARD DURING FILMING OF PSYCHO IN 1960
Alfred Hitchcock was a genius in the movie industry and television. Although he died in 1980 at age 80, many younger movie fans know him from his works being shown on TV and at film festivals. For those of us who saw his work in first release, we were able to see him gain stature in the entertainment business through the years.

To most movie fans, the most remembered films of Hitchcock are probably Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960). My personal favorite is Psycho because, not only is it a great movie with all the Hitchcock twists and turns, but it was done on a low budget, involved Phoenix, and contained some innovations that changed the style of how films were made and marketed in its era.

We know the opening scene where downtown Phoenix is panned but did you know that Janet Leigh’s character’s name had to be changed from Mary Crane to Marion Crane because there was a Mary Crane in the Phoenix phone book? Also, most of the highway scenes were done in California although when Leigh drives out of town, she is supposedly in downtown Phoenix although none of the actors or Hitchcock were ever here.

Psycho was a low budget film costing only $800,000 so Hitchcock had to let us know that the date in the movie was December 11 as Phoenix had Christmas decorations on the streets at that time and the cost to remove them by his crew for the film would have been too much.

Another innovation of Hitchcock’s was to have the star (Leigh) get eliminated early in the film. Because of that he insisted on having theaters not allow seating after the film began. By doing this it removed the complaints of those who showed up late to see Janet Leigh only to discover that her part in the movie was over.

In spite of several bad reviews, Psycho was a huge hit proving that word of mouth can overrule the critics in most cases. The combination of Hitchcock’s direction, a fine cast including great character actors of the day getting a chance to shine, Phoenix locations, and Bernard Herrmann’s eerie musical score, made Psycho a film as enjoyable today as when it was released in 1960.

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Summer golf in Phoenix

This guy's shirt was one color before his round of Golf in Phoenix during the summer.
Summer is around the corner and with it comes some great rates for golfers in Arizona. If you play golf and are new to the Phoenix area, don’t get your hopes up yet. Do you remember that 100 degree day we had last week? If you thought that heat was a killer, summer golf in Phoenix may not be for you because that was a template for what you can expect almost every day from mid May through about mid September.

Playing golf in Phoenix during the summer is not for the faint of heart. If you hate the heat and have experienced illness because of it, drop me a note and I will give you a list of air conditioned bowling alleys to satisfy your need for summer recreation. If you can tolerate spending four to five hours cursing because of your inability to hit a little white ball in 110 degree heat without a cloud in sight, please read on.

We all know about golf in Phoenix in the winter. There are the lush, green, over seeded fairways, the 72 degree temperatures, minimal wind, and the joy of always having a good lie on the perfect grass. Who couldn’t play great golf with those conditions? Oh, yeah, in order to enjoy that situation, be prepared to pay about $150.

The real golfers make their appearance in the summer. Those $150 green fees are suddenly in the $30 to $40 range and many courses will throw in a free lunch. The courses are well watered so they are still relatively lush and the beer cart girls are much lovelier in their summer outfits than when they are bundled up during the winter season.

Always drink plenty of fluids and slather on lots of #50 sun block and you may just make it through 18 holes. You may even feel good enough to gulp down the free lunch and guzzle a few beers in celebration of your still being alive. Always keep in mind the mantra of the Chamber of Commerce: "But, it’s a dry heat." Uh...., yeah, right!

If you play golf this summer, check out the "Golf Now" website for some good deals. Usually, the longer you wait to book a tee time, the better the deal. Some courses are in financial straits so they should have good deals. Those include Sun Ridge Canyon and Sanctuary in Fountain Hills and Scottsdale. The Biltmore courses and the Wigwam are in foreclosure so they will also be glad to see you. The Wigwam is already at $35, a good deal.

Desert Ghost, JD, Jennifer H. and I will be playing. Hope to see you this summer on the links.

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Farewell, Pontiac

1966 Pontiac GTO

Little GTO, you’re really lookin’ fine

Three deuces and a four speed, and a 389

Listen to her tachin’ up now, listen to her why-ee-eye-ine

C’mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out GTO.

Little G. T. O. Ronnie and the Daytonas, 1964 (2:39)

Enjoy the memories of that fabulous little car from the muscle car era of the 1960s as General Motors has announced that after 83 years they will stop the production of Pontiacs. The Bonnevilles, Catalinas, Firebirds, and Trans Ams will be memories of an era when General Motors ruled the car business in the U. S. A popular saying many years ago was "If it’s good enough for General Motors, it’s good enough for me." That is an echo of the past now.

They pretty much have themselves to blame as they were the fat cats of the U.S. car business and allowed complacency to kick in as the Japanese and others were making serious inroads into their business. Now, they are broke and begging for government money to survive. It’s a sad state of affairs.

"Little GTO" made it to number 4 on Billboard’s top 40 hit list in August, 1964. It was summer and Pontiac had taken their little Tempest model (originally LeMans) and put a 389 inch V8 under the hood to produce the G.T.O., the first of the real "muscle cars." Fully loaded it sold for $4,500, pretty steep in those days but who cared? That baby would really go!

In 1969, the Pontiac GTO "Judge" was introduced. At that time "Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In" was a big hit on ABC television and one of the catch phrases of that show was "Here Comes the Judge." The Pontiac Judge was a take-off of that line and was the ultimate in the GTO Series with wider tires, decals, rear spoiler, and a fancier engine.

Although Pontiacs will no longer be produced, we can still enjoy their performance on reruns of shows like "The Rockford Files" as James Garner outruns many a lumbering, ugly, mid 70s car in his sleek Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.

First it was the Oldsmobile, now the Pontiac. Buick will probably be next to join the extinct list along with DeSoto, Plymouth, Hudson, Nash, and others that used to be common on the roads of America.

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"Hey, kids! What time is it?"

The year is 1949. It is a cold, dark, December afternoon and it is almost 5:30. I’m running full speed on my eight year old legs to Carol Whetsel’s house a block up the street from my home in Cincinnati. Carol’s house was the place to be on Monday through Friday afternoons in those salad days of youth because 5:30 pm meant only one thing: Buffalo Bob asking the kids in the peanut gallery: "Hey, kids! What time is it?" Their reply? "It’s Howdy Doody Time!"

Carol Whetsel sure had nice parents. Since they had the only TV in the area, they had to tolerate having every kid in the neighborhood pack their living room with its own peanut gallery to sit in front of their 12 inch, black and white, table model Admiral television to watch Howdy Doody. I’m sure that scene was repeated in Phoenix and about every city in the country on a daily basis. I wonder who sold the most TV sets in those days: Howdy or Milton Berle. Both were extremely popular in 1949.

It was an exciting era for kids who were old enough to have listened to kid’s programming on the radio following the exploits of Superman, Red Ryder, Tarzan, and Terry and the Pirates. When TV came along in the late ‘40s, it was magical to think of seeing those characters on TV. Howdy Doody was an example of that magic as it lasted on TV from 1947 until 1960.

Children loved the Doodyville marionettes which included Howdy, the mayor Phineas T. Bluster, the naive Dilly Dally, and Flub-a dub, a mixture of eight animals. Live characters included Clarabelle the Clown, played by future Captain Kangaroo, Bob Keeshan, Chief Thunderthud, and Princess Summerfall Winterspring played by cute Judy Tyler, who went on to star with Elvis in Jailhouse Rock in 1957. Sadly, on July 4 of that year she was killed in an auto accident in Wyoming. She was 24.

The Howdy Doody Show was great for kids and was not only funny but educational as when they got a lesson in government when Howdy ran for President of the kids of America in 1948. Unfortunately, by 1960 Howdy’s early evening time slot was being coveted for older viewers and the show was moved to Saturday mornings. After a short run, it was canceled after 2,543 episodes.

If you are of a certain age, you probably remember Howdy Doody and other good kid’s shows of the time like Smilin’ Ed, Fury, Kukla, Fran, and Ollie, and any of the many local kid’s shows around the country like Wallace and Ladmo. It was a nice era for kids and TV, today’s kids missed some good shows.

"Buffalo Bob" Smith and Howdy Doody
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"NO" TO DREAM ACT

I have a few comments about the April 9 editorial in the Republic supporting the DREAM Act which would allow illegal alien children the opportunity to stay in the US under certain conditions. The editorial is supporting special privileges for illegal kids because they were unknowingly brought into the US as babies by their illegal parents. Whoever wrote the editorial (sounds like Linda V.) gives the impression that we owe these kids something simply because they happen to be here illegally and have gotten away with it.

The DREAM Act would give permanent legal residency to these kids if they completed two years of college or two years in our military within six years. After that, they would be on a pathway to citizenship. The Republic is supporting letting these kids jump in line ahead of people who have been waiting years to become citizens, simply because their parents broke the law when they were babies. That is a ridiculous proposition plus what about the kids who have no interest in the DREAM Act? Are they allowed to stay here and continue leading their illegal lives or are they rounded up and deported? From the tone of the editorial, I think the Republic would support the former. Why not give all of them the key to the city of Washington while we are at it?

This is another example of slapping the faces of Americans and legal immigrants who became citizens by going through normal channels. It’s like letting a murderer off the hook because he said he was sorry he did his crime. What about the parents of these kids who have enjoyed leading their illegal lives all these years while their kids were growing up? Will they be deported since we will know of their location? If so, why can’t their kids follow them home and live their lives in Mexico? Either that or they can get in line like everyone else who wants to come here.

In 2006, there was a bill voted on (Prop 300) to give the illegal kids in-state tuition for college. In other words, if you were from any other state but AZ and a US citizen, you would have paid out of state tuition but if you lived in AZ and were an illegal alien, you could have paid in-state tuition. Luckily, the citizens of AZ voted that down in large numbers.

I’m sorry but I can’t agree with the provisions of the DREAM Act. Illegal immigration is costing this country billions each year so I don’t care how exemplary the lives of these kids have been. They are illegal, their parents are illegal, and they should both be dealt with accordingly. We brag about being a nation of laws and we have a border patrol for a reason. Unfortunately, there are ulterior motives for wanting the DREAM Act and it will probably pass. If it does, we may as well tear down any obstructions at the border and forget about immigration laws.

As for the aliens who worked hard and patiently waited to become citizens, you can put away your little American flags that you tearfully waved with pride when you raised your hands to take the oath of citizenship. Their will be no more pride in this country and the certificate you received will be worth nothing.

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Credit cards or cash?

Remember when you carried a lot of cash? Remember the old saying, "Cash on the barrel head."? That’s the way business used to be done but today we live in a credit and debit card society.

If you are a victim of the economy, you may or may not use cash or you may prefer to charge everything on your MasterCard or Visa. I do the latter because credit cards offer incentives in the form of cash or other items. I pay my card off every month and collect the points toward cash. It’s logical for me since I get an occasional check for $500 from them.

I know people who still insist on paying cash for everything. That’s very noble but these days it doesn’t make much sense. By paying cash you are technically paying more for certain products because the retailer has to build into his cost the processing charges made by the credit card companies and banks. For example, in the grocery business, credit and debit card sales now account for an average of about 53% of sales. In higher end areas of town, it can reach as high as 65%. Processing charges in a typical store doing about $380,000 in business per week can reach the $130,000 per year range. The store has to get that back somehow and it is usually done by raising retail prices.

Although using your credit card and paying it off monthly makes sense, many find it impossible to use that system because with the extra cash lying around they would spend it too and not be able to pay off their bills. If that is you, forget about using credit cards unless you want to become a victim of making partial payments on the cards thus putting you on a monthly merry-go-round of high interest rate costs.

I’m not saying that card processing fees are the sole reason grocery prices are high but they are one reason. The biggest reason, according to the Food Marketing Institute, is employee theft which last year increased for the third straight year and accounted for 40% of shrink . With the bad economy, that figure along with shoplifting is expected to go even higher.

You may as well take advantage of credit card rebates to help offset the costs that are passed on to the customer. Just be sure to pay your bill in full each month to avoid interest charges.

Remember when you carried a lot of cash? Remember the old saying, "Cash on the barrel head."? That’s the way business used to be done but today we live in a credit and debit card society.

If you are a victim of the economy, you may or may not use cash or you may prefer to charge everything on your MasterCard or Visa. I do the latter because credit cards offer incentives in the form of cash or other items. I pay my card off every month and collect the points toward cash. It’s logical for me since I get an occasional check for $500 from them.

I know people who still insist on paying cash for everything. That’s very noble but these days it doesn’t make much sense. By paying cash you are technically paying more for certain products because the retailer has to build into his cost the processing charges made by the credit card companies and banks. For example, in the grocery business, credit and debit card sales now account for an average of about 53% of sales. In higher end areas of town, it can reach as high as 65%. Processing charges in a typical store doing about $380,000 in business per week can reach the $130,000 per year range. The store has to get that back somehow and it is usually done by raising retail prices.

Although using your credit card and paying it off monthly makes sense, many find it impossible to use that system because with the extra cash lying around they would spend it too and not be able to pay off their bills. If that is you, forget about using credit cards unless you want to become a victim of making partial payments on the cards thus putting you on a monthly merry-go-round of high interest rate costs.

I’m not saying that card processing fees are the sole reason grocery prices are high but they are one reason. The biggest reason, according to the Food Marketing Institute, is employee theft which last year increased for the third straight year and accounted for 40% of shrink . With the bad economy, that figure along with shoplifting is expected to go even higher.

You may as well take advantage of credit card rebates to help offset the costs that are passed on to the customer. Just be sure to pay your bill in full each month to avoid interest charges.

Political correctness is absurd

Janitors are now "maintenance engineers." Tramps or bums are "homeless persons." Someone told me recently that a shelf stocker at Wal-Mart is now referred to as an "inventory management specialist." Some people are no longer considered retarded, they are "mentally challenged." People of short stature are "vertically challenged" and bald people are "follicle challenged." I think it is a challenge to keep up with these silly politically correct terms.

It is another example of the further weakening of this country that our biggest fear is that somewhere, somehow, someone may be offended. Hence, we change decades long definitions to accommodate the minority of those who may be affected. Kids get trophies even though they are terrible athletes and their teams are losers. Why? Because it may hurt their self esteem to have it otherwise. Let’s don’t encourage them to improve, let’s pat them on the heads and hand them their ultimate goals without expecting them to accomplish anything.

Philip Atkinson, author of A Study of Our Decline, says it best: "Political Correctness is merely the resentment of spoiled children directed against their parent’s values." For example, one student has complained that he did a paper where he mentioned that in a certain city the majority of crimes were performed by "black against black." When his paper was returned his professor gave him "that look" and said "black against black" was offensive and couldn’t be used even though it was fact.

We all love Charles Barkley for his sense of humor, if not for his driving skills while drunk. A few years ago, Charles was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Jokingly, he said that since all his relatives from Alabama were in Massachusetts to see him get inducted, he asked his family’s neighbors to please not break into their homes and "steal our stuff." From Charles, that is considered funny but what would be the reaction if Larry Bird said the same thing? That’s another thing irritating about PC: it is selective. Can you imagine the great black singing group from the 1940s still being called "The Ink Spots."

Consequently, we no longer have "illegal immigrants," they are now "undocumented workers" as though that justifies their breaking the law by being in the US illegally. That is the same as saying a thief is an "unsolicited remover of retail products." And, in December, be careful when you say "Merry Christmas" to someone. You may be offending them.

In the 1950s, the city of Cincinnati sold their old streetcars to Hong Kong. A local guy in Cincy wrote a popular song called "Cincinnati Ding Dong." Some of the lyrics were "Chew Chow, Ching Chong, Cincinnati Ding Dong. It’s just a trolley streetcar, way down in Hong Kong China, way, way, away." It was corny stuff and was innocent enough but it wouldn’t be played now. However, rap songs with destructive tactics against women and police are common. Figure that one out.

Just ramblin' a bit

Is Barack getting on TV as much as Billy Mays?
Some recent quotes, facts, and figures.....

From Peter Bronson of the Cincinnati Enquirer referring to President Obama: "He is becoming the Billy Mays TV gadget geek of the White House. He’s everywhere. Just lately he did the "Tonight Show", "60 Minutes" and ESPN to explain his NCAA Tournament bracket."

"It's like — it was like Special Olympics, or something."— Barack Obama, responding to a question from Jay Leno on NBC's Tonight Show about his shoddy bowling game. The president recently shot a 129 game which is bad but better than the 37 he bowled last year. He also apologized to the Special Olympics for his unfortunate remark.

"Somebody said that we’re not in President Obama’s Final Four, and as much as I respect what he’s doing, really, the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets." Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. (Sorry, Mike. After Duke’s crushing loss to Villanova on Thursday, BO was right about your team. )

"Arizona could be facing a budget deficit equaling 30 percent of the state’s general fund spending, giving the state the largest budget deficit on a percentage basis in the nation, according to Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The committee is projecting Fiscal Year 2010 revenues of about $8.3 billion against a general fund budget of about $11.5 billion, for a deficit of $3.2 billion." Tom Jenney, The Heartland Institute

According to AARP, Arizona has the largest percentage of shortfall (15.9%) in their general fund budget than any state for midyear fiscal 2009. Close behind is Illinois (14.8%) and California (13.6%). Arkansas, Texas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wyoming are the only states in the black.

"Tonight we'll be putting the paper to bed for the last time, but the bloodline will live on." Editor and publisher Roger Oglesby to a silent newsroom at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on March 17.

The Seattle PI will still exist online so I guess the people of that city can mount their computers on their breakfast tables to enjoy the paper with their morning coffee. Somehow, I don’t think it will be the same but with subscriptions down to 117,600, they probably had no choice. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ends 146 years of hard copy publications.

Chavez fought illegal immigration

I’m trying to avoid politics in my blogs because we have plenty of people blogging who thrive on that sunject. But, I felt a comment was necessary concerning the following.

I just read Yvonne Winget’s blog reporting that "Anti-Arapio activists will stage a week-long fast to bring attention to what they believe are his office’s ‘abuses of power and discrimination.’ " The fast will be in conjunction with a celebration of the life of Cesar Chavez, the late civil rights activist. The shindig starts March 29, one day before my birthday, but I doubt if I will get an invitation.

I just reviewed 60 of the current 80 comments to Yvonne’s blog and 55 of them back Sheriff Arpaio. Many of the commenters laughed and said "Let ‘em starve" while others told them to "Go back to Mexico." I wouldn’t want to be near the protests in downtown Phoenix on 3-29 as there could be some violence. It might also be a good opportunity for the sheriff to make a good haul of illegals instead of the few he has picked up on his raids.

It all seems silly as the protestors are the most uninformed group to come down the pike. If they are backing illegality, what is their complaint? Illegals shouldn’t be here in the first place. Also, they are celebrating Cesar Chavez who did so much for LEGAL migrant farm workers. Chavez was a third generation American and Navy veteran who was against illegal immigration and was known to turn in known illegals to the border patrol. I guess the leaders of the protest and fast didn’t bother to check that out. If Cesar was alive, he would be helping the sheriff root the illegals out of their holes.

Another comment I love is when the protestors refer to those who oppose illegal immigration as "racists." They don’t even know the difference between "race" and "nationality." Mexican and Hispanic are nationalities, not races, so how is the sheriff a racist? Plus, he doesn’t make the laws, he enforces them. They are complaining about the wrong guy.

The Russin comedian Yakov Smirnoff used to rave in his standup routine about how great the U.S. is. His favorite line was "What a country!" What a country, indeed. It’s one of the few places where criminals can openly protest the law. Try doing that in Mexico City.

Are drugs worth side effects?

Cialis has worked when the couple makes the tubs

Ever since they were approved years ago, we have been inundated with TV commercials for prescription drugs. Some of them can be fantastic in their claims to ease pain and suffering. When I see a pitch for these miracle products my first thought is, "O. K., let’s hear about the side effects."

One of my favorites is for Abilify, a drug used by those suffering from depression and bi-polar problems. Side effects include tremors, restlessness, shakes, muscle stiffness, other involuntary movements and a possible tendency toward suicide. Needless to say, anyone who uses this drug better be under some supervision especially for the suicide warning.

Then there is Cialis. We all know the ads: the gray haired guy is dancing with the babe and suddenly they head for the elevator to get to their hotel room. The dude took his Cialis 90 minutes ago and he is ready for some action. We’re all rooting for him but we hope that he doesn’t take nitrates because when they are mixed with Cialis, it could cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure.

He better not drink alcohol to excess with Cialis as that could lower blood pressure too and cause additional dizziness. Cialis can cause upset stomach and headache and possible back and muscle ache. In rare occurrences he may report loss of hearing or vision at which time he should immediately call his doctor. Really? Can you picture this scenario: "Uh, hello Doc. Ya see, I have this babe in a room at the Ritz-Carlton and I took some Cialis, not that I really need it, but, well, you know Doc, I got lucky and got her up to my room and suddenly I can’t hear or see. Other than that and my upset stomach, dizziness, and headache I’m feeling pretty lucky tonight. What should I do?"

I don’t know what the Doc tells the guy but the commercial always ends with the two lovers sitting in bathtubs with a couple glasses of Champagne watching the sun set on the Pacific. Something tells me he did all right.

Ah, the glory of Cialis except for those pesky side effects.

Economy is affecting everyone

The Dow Jones averages have gone up 684 points in the last four days of last week which normally would be encouraging but with the economy floundering, it is probably just the dreaded "dead cat bounce." I would love to be wrong but when you look at the current situation, I’m probably not. A dead cat bounce is better than no bounce so let’s enjoy it for the weekend until reality clicks back in on Monday.

Have you done much grocery shopping lately? Bashas’ and Fry’s in Phoenix have recently laid off a lot of people plus it’s almost comical how various manufacturers are fighting price increases by varying product sizes. Remember when Breyer’s ice cream came in half gallons? A few years ago, they reduced their size to 1.75 quarts. Since then they have shrunk to1.5 quarts. However, you still pay the half gallon price. The same goes for Dreyer’s ice cream. Safeway’s brand has only dropped to 1.75quarts and they always offer it at one free with one which isn’t a bad deal.

I don’t want to beat up on just the ice cream guys. It’s happening all over the store. Remember when coffee was in a pound can? Try 10.5 ounces to 13 oz. now and most of it comes in plastic containers. The old gallon of bleach is now 96 oz., facial tissue has dropped from 100 count to 66 count, bacon is often 12 oz. where it used to be a pound. I could go on but you get the point so when you shop and think you got a good deal on something, check the size. It may not be as large as you remember.

Elsewhere, a couple Big Macs and fries are pushing $10 and I’m not so sure it is the same size Big Mac we used to get. I ate breakfast at The Good Egg in north Scottsdale the other day and the potato portion was minuscule while the usual garnish no longer exists. At a Quizno’s recently the condiment bar was removed. No more extra sauce, pickles, peppers, etc. Brisam’s Restaurant in Cave Creek has good fish and chips but have cut the portion from 4 to 2 ½ pieces of fish.

Car dealers? Airpark Hyundai has recently closed as has their neighbors Airpark Chrysler-Jeep and Cardinale Buick-Pontiac. I was going to take my Buick to Cardinale after Power Buick on McDowell closed but I guess I’ll forget about that. Those are all Scottsdale delaerships.

Now that I have cheered you up with the economic good news, I hope everyone will have a nice weekend. Oh, I almost forgot. Foreclosures have dropped the median home price in Scottsdale 23% in the last year. But, on the bright side, spring training attendance is down 7% so you can probably get seats. Of course, those seats will cost a lot more than in the past.

I feel like spouting off today

Maybe there is something that has slipped by me. I hear about "illegal alien rights" and it seems like an oxymoron. I thought that if you were from another country and came to the U. S., you worked to become a citizen, thus EARNING your rights. That's what my mother did when she emigrated from Canada in the 1930s. I’ll always remember her feeling of pride when she worked for and received her U. S. citizenship.

With the battle going on between certain politically ambitious forces like the mayor of Phoenix and the House Judiciary Committee versus the Maricopa County Sheriff who has been working against illegal immigration within the guidelines of federal ICE standards, one wonders what the controversy is about. It seems simple enough: if you are in this country illegally, you should get out at once and try to return at a later date through normal legal channels. Otherwise, it is an insult to those who came the right way.

Here is something else that confuses me. Our new president, who is black, picked a black attorney general, Eric Holder, who makes a speech saying that ..."in things racial, we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards." He claims that Americans live in "race protected cocoons." It seems like an odd statement from a black who is appointed AG after the election of a black president. I hope he is referring to Black Entertainment Television or the United Negro College Fund but I have a feeling that he is not. Maybe Mr. Holder thinks the Justice Department should be picking our friends for us under the new regime. By the way, Mr. Holder is also investigating the sheriff much to the glee of Mayor Gordon.

The controversy over the Sheriff is about his methods of finding illegal immigrants. He has done neighborhood sweeps in areas where illegals are most likely to be and done investigations during traffic stops. By doing this he has been accused of "racial profiling." This reminds me of the old Sam Kinison joke where he said that if you are starving, you should go where the food is.

It seems like a harmless method to me. If a person is legal, all they have to do is prove it and they are sent on their way. If they are illegal, they are apprehended. It’s kind of like a roadblock being established after a bank robbery in an effort to catch the thief, only a bit less overt.

Those who are stopped and are legal should be thankful that efforts are being made to rid the area of illegals. Illegal aliens pay little or no taxes, send most of their money home to Mexico, they jam our public schools and health care systems and drive cars with no insurance. Who pays for all this while local employers reap the benefits of cheap labor? Answer: U. S. Citizens.

Since Sheriff Arpaio began his sweeps and began enforcing the Employer Sanctions Law, thousands of illegal aliens have fled the area. Formerly overcrowded apartment complexes are now vacant as illegal residents have gone to other states. It sounds like the sheriff is getting the job done and it is odd that only two racial profiling cases have been filed.

Today’s Republic editorial, as one would expect, criticizes the sheriff’s methods and claims legal Latino citizens live in fear and "feel vulnerable, targeted and afraid." Why? If they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear.

Phoenix in the 1940s

(L) Members of Phoenix's A-1 beer women's softball team receive their new uniforms in the late 1940s (R) The control tower at Sky Harbor Airport in the 1940s

If you love Phoenix but missed the December, 2008 edition of Phoenix magazine, you missed a powerful 31 page picture laden edition prepared by Susie Steckner devoted to life in Phoenix during the 1940s. It’s worth your time to call the magazine and try to obtain a copy.

In 1940, Phoenix was an "agricultural community and a service center with retail and wholesale operations." However, tourism was making a move toward the Southwest and when WWII broke out in 1941, air bases like Luke in Phoenix and Williams in Mesa combined with defense plants being built, brought growth and new employment to the area.

It was a time of population boom with its obligatory housing boom, the addition of spring training baseball, and the emergence of some good leaders that guided the city’s growth in the 1945 post war era. Three of those leaders were Attorney Frank Snell, Valley Bank president Walter Bimson (as a former VB employee, reader Don is familiar with him), and publisher of The Arizona Republic, Eugene Pulliam.

In 1949, Barry Goldwater was elected to the Phoenix City Council where he served until his election in 1952 to the U.S. Senate. By 1950, the population of Phoenix had grown to 107,000, almost double the population of 1940. The boom was on.

From Phoenix magazine, here are some highlights of the 1940's: By 1940, passenger airline service was becoming popular at Sky Harbor. The airport proudly mentioned an observation deck that offered the "thrill of watching planes land and take off."

Jacque Joy Mercer of Phoenix won the Miss America contest in 1949. Also in 1949, KPHO signed on as the first TV station in Phoenix and was located in the Westward Ho Hotel. It was the only TV station between El Paso and San Diego.

The Boston Store had been a retail leader in downtown Phoenix for 50 years but in 1947 became Diamond’s which many years later became Dillard’s. In 1947, Diamond’s, Korrick’s, and Goldwater’s ruled the retail scene in Phoenix.

The December issue of Phoenix magazine is a collector’s issue for anyone who cares about the history of Phoenix. The cover is appropriate as it depicts Rosie the Riveter, a true hero of WWII and the 1940s.

HEALTH INSURANCE IS IMPORTANT

I can’t imagine not having health insurance. Even as a foolhardy kid who never felt sick and figured I would live forever, I wanted to always be sure I had health insurance in case something catastrophic hit. It didn’t have to be a health problem; accidents happen too.

My parents always had some type of health insurance for my brother and me when we were kids. It was cheap in those days and even when I got married in the late ‘60s my wife and I only paid $13.50 a month for Blue Cross. When we both graduated from college, our companies provided insurance so we were well covered. It came in handy in 1984 when I tore an Achilles tendon playing basketball well past my prime and needed surgery.

When we retired to Arizona on a permanent basis in 1989, we went on COBRA for 18 months which was expensive but better than nothing. After that, I worked at various part time jobs that provided insurance and the most I ever paid for it was about $80 per month. With today’s health costs, I considered that a good deal especially in 1998 when I needed eye surgery. I was on an HMO and the surgery didn’t cost me a cent. I don’t hear much about HMOs anymore.

In 2000 my wife went to work for Safeway on a part time basis of about 20-25 hours per week. Part of her benefits were free health insurance. Another benefit for her was that I became Mr. Mom and cooked a lot of meals, did ironing (you should see my creases), washed dishes, grocery shopped, etc., but that is a story for another time.

That free insurance came in handy when I had cataract surgery last year on my right eye. It was a simple procedure but I shudder to think of the medical costs coming out of my pocket. I know of people my age who have no insurance because when they inquired about it they were told either that because of some prior condition, they were uninsurable or, if they were insurable, the cost would be astronomical with a high deductible. Most are taking a chance and waiting for medicare at 65 which costs about $190 per month not counting supplemental policies.

Anyone who has been to a hospital knows about the high cost of health care. I have seen people lose all their savings because of that cost and because they didn’t have health insurance. If you don’t have it, but there is a way you can get it, I would advise going for it.

Will there be a Ford in your future as this 1944 ad suggests?

There was a time when you would be a candidate for the rubber room if you said that General Motors would someday be struggling to stay in business. Remember when "If it’s good enough for General Motors, it’s good enough for me" was a common saying? They had it their way for a long time. I think when the dust settles, they will probably have only Cadillac and Chevrolet and will be glad they still exist. Pontiac and Buick will probably go the way of the Oldsmobile.

I don’t see how Chrysler has held on. They have always been third in the U. S. behind GM and Ford. Iacocca saved them for a while with the vans and Joe Garagiola helped them a bit in the 70s with his pleas to "Buy a car, get a check!" You received $200 if you bought a Chrysler which is about what the car was worth after a couple of years. Plymouth is now gone along with DeSoto and who knows how much longer Dodge will be around. Is it really different enough from a Chrysler to justify its existence?

Does anyone remember "There’s a Ford in your future"? That was the Ford slogan beginning in 1944, a year when new Fords weren’t even available because of WWII. Pretty soon it may be "Does Ford HAVE a future?" I keep hearing of the millions they are losing and now their ads are imploring us to buy American and buy a Ford to save jobs.

I hate to see the American auto industry fade. I loved cars when I was a kid and would hop the trolley and go downtown specifically to see the new models. That was in the days when they would come out in January instead of the previous June. I loved the slogans like the ‘57 Chevy being "Sweet, smooth, and sassy." Buick would claim that "When better cars are built, Buick will build them." If you remember the Packard, they said in the early ‘50s that "Packard is the one for ‘51, ask the man who owns one." In the ‘60s, Eydie Gorme told us that "Plymouth is out to win you over this year." That worked in ‘67, but no more as Plymouth has joined Packard, Hudson, Muntz, Kaiser, Tucker, Oldsmobile, and many others in the auto graveyard.

I never thought I would buy a foreign car but when looking for a new car in 2001, I gave the Hyundai XG300 a try. It was a much better value than any American car so I traded in my Chrysler and became a Hyundai owner. I have since bought another Hyundai. I hated to do it but the GM cars I looked at couldn’t compare in price or warranty. The dealers seemed complacent about the foreign competition but with dealerships closing daily, especially on Scottsdale’s motor mile, maybe they are changing their attitudes. I have a feeling that we will soon see discounted cars and 0% financing.

P.S. If you want to see some great restored American cars, stop by McDonald's on Indian Bend east of Pima in the Pavilions Shopping Center. They have some beauties there on Saturdays.

Big changes in the grocery business

A typical Safeway store of the 1960s and 70s

From 1969 to 1989 I was in sales and called on grocery and drug accounts at the retail and headquarters level. Although retired 20 years from that business, I still like to grocery shop and cruise the aisles to see how many changes have taken place since I hung up my selling shoes in 1989. Like most businesses, the changes have been vast, both in the product choices and the technology by which the modern grocery store operates.

The cost of a trip to the grocery store has increased tremendously. In 1967, when Barb and I did our first grocery shopping trip as a married couple, we paid $54.35 for three full carts of groceries. I still have the receipt. Today, we pay that much to pick up a few items on the way home.

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, cigarettes were a big deal in supermarkets. End displays of cartons were typical as were a rack for single packs at each check stand. Today, at $50-$60 per carton, cigs are locked up tight behind the service desk. Water sections have been expanded to where there is about as much water as soda pop. There used to be only one water stocked and it was used for steam irons. The beer section used to be 6 packs only, now you can get a 30 pack. Detergents were all powders and sold in boxes, today they are liquids. Margarine used to come in sticks, now it is all in tubs. Frozen juice is a thing of the past and it’s hard to find white bread today with all the grain varieties. Shredded cheese was non-existent, now it has an entire section.

One of the biggest changes is in produce which has about everything you would ever want all year round. No more strawberries for only a few weeks in the spring, soft fruit in the summer, and apples in the fall. You can get those items all the time now.

Remember when you took "empties" back to the store to collect the deposit? Remember when you paid cash or had a check approval card? How about when all the products were stamped with the price? No UPC codes in those days. Today, I charge everything.

I shop at a modern Safeway, and since Safeway was a primary account of mine for many years, I marvel at the difference between their stores today and in the past. In the 60s and 70s the stores were about half the size as now and the perimeter departments like delis, flowers, and bakeries were either tiny or non-existent. Their stores have come a long way in Phoenix since 1960, both in product mix, store size, and technology but I still kind of miss the "clang" of those old mechanical cash registers and the dresses the cashiers used to wear.

These are a couple of examples of early Safeway stores I used to call on in the 60s and 70s. They are a lot different from the large, modern stores of today in design and product mix.

Black roles on TV

Leslie David Baker of "The Office"

Benjamin Todd Jealous is the President of the NAACP. His name is not without irony as he made a statement recently that he can’t understand why, since the country is excited about an African-American president, minorities are so grossly under-represented on TV. Pete Bronson of the Enquirer wonders if Mr. Jealous is watching the same TV that he and I are watching.

Black performers have been well represented on TV for many years in commercials, sports broadcasting, and regular programming and they still are. Currently, as Bronson reports, there are shows like The Unit which stars Dennis Haysbert of Allstate Insurance commercial fame. He also played a role on 24. The comedy hit The Office features black actor Leslie David Baker.

Among other shows featuring Black actors are The Shield, CSI, Law and Order, House, Grey’s Anatomy, 30 Rock, and Friday Night Lights. There are many more and most of the Black roles are portrayed positively.

This is nothing new, Black actors have been portrayed in a positive light on TV for years. Remember the highly acclaimed The Cosby Show which ran on NBC from 1984-1992? I don’t think anyone has been portrayed more positively than Dr. Cliff Huxtable. George Jefferson was a successful businessman on The Jeffersons from 1975-1985. How about Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The Bernie Mac Show, Sanford and Son, Diff’rent Strokes, The Jamie Foxx Show. The list goes on but you know what I mean.

There are 221 million white people in the United States as opposed to 42 million Blacks and 44 million Hispanics.. With those numbers, I think Black actors are doing quite well with their exposure on TV. As far as underexposure, maybe Mr. Jealous can explain why there is the Miss Black America pageant, Black Entertainment Television, and Soul Train. I see zero white representation in those ventures. Why is that?

Sorry, Mr. Jealous. You’re wrong on this. One of your predecessors, Dr. Roy Wilkins, was a fan of the number one radio show of the 1930s. That show was Amos and Andy and it starred two white guys playing Black men in stereotypical fashion. Black citizens of the time loved the show because it portrayed Black people struggling through the Depression with the same problems as white people. It didn’t bother Wilkins in the 1930s that the actors were white. It shouldn’t bother you now.

Is it Soda? Pop? Coke?

Whether it is soda, pop, or coke depends on where you are from. On this map POP is green, SODA is blue, and COKE is red. I haven't seen any definition dominate Phoenix/Scottsdale.

What do you call carbonated soft drinks? Soda? Pop? Coke? Those are the three most popular generic names for carbonated flavored drinks although for me, "soda" and "pop" are the most common and "coke" is still a name brand.

Growing up in southwest Ohio, we referred to carbonated drinks as "pop" like in, "Would you like a bottle of pop?" When I worked in Kansas City, it was still "pop" but I noticed on visits to St. Louis, it was called "soda." I noticed a lot of guys from the East also referred to it as "soda." In a large part of the South, it is referred to as "coke" possibly because Coca-Cola originated in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1880's and the name has become generic for all soft drinks in he area.

There are also many regional brands of soft drinks. When I used to visit my relatives in Montreal, a popular drink was "spruce beer." It wasn’t beer, it was made from and tasted like pine needles. It doesn’t sound good but it was very tasty. The Canadian cream soda had no coloring like I was used to with my bottles of Barq’s which was pink.

Barq’s was a great brand in the old days. They made several other flavors like root beer and lime. I had a friend who like to drink half of his pink cream soda and fill the bottle back up with a 5 cent bag of Planter’s Peanuts. Yuck, not for me. Barq’s was also unique because, although it was spelled "Barq’s" most people pronounced it "Barges" because they thought the "q" looked like a "g" and every school kid knew that a "u" always followed a "q" (except maybe in a proper name, oops!)

Other popular regional brands include a cherry pop from North Carolina that is supposed to be wonderful called Cheerwine. We used to have Wagner’s Ginger Ale and Dad’s Root Beer in Ohio which were both excellent. We also had Vichy which was terrible, tasted like Alka-Seltzer. Detroit has Vernor’s Ginger Ale which is good but don’t breathe the carbonation, powerful stuff.

There are lots of other brands like Nesbits which made a grape and orange pop, Mission Orange, and they may still make Nehi although I haven’t seen it lately. Back east there is a coffee soda called Manhattan Special and there is Red Ribbon Cherry Supreme out of Pennsylvania. Portland, Oregon has Hotlips Blueberry Soda.

One thing to watch for if you are a Coke lover: Coke is made with fructose which does not have the wonderful flavor of cane sugar sweetening. During Passover in the springtime, Coke uses cane sugar and the bottles are identified by a yellow cap with the circle "U". I’ve had an expert tell me the taste is unbelievably better than the Coke we know. Mexican Coke is supposedly much better too.

THE "SUPERB BOWL"

To borrow from Mr. Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The best came when Larry Fitzgerald caught Kurt Warner’s pass for a 64 yard TD to give the Cardinals the lead 23-20. The worst came when Santonio Holmes made the great catch and stayed in bounds for the winning TD with 35 seconds left in the game.

When Fitzgerald scored, I was ecstatic but had mixed feelings as I saw 2:37 left in the game. After I finished cheering, I told my wife that "They left too much time on the clock." While it is true that Holmes scored the game winner two minutes later, I think the game turned on the 100 yard interception by James Harrison at the end of the first half. The Cardinals were a couple yards from the lead and suddenly it went the other way. But, that’s football, and it’s not the first time spectacular plays have won games.

The Cardinals won in the total stats 407 to 314 thanks to the passing of Kurt Warner. Once again the running game was faulty gaining only 33 yards. Rather than fault James and Hightower, I think the fans need to understand the importance of Warner to the success of the team. Without him, they would not have been in Tampa. They would be wise to re-sign him to a two year contract even though it would take him to age 40. Is that too old for a QB? Those of you who remember George Blanda won't think so. At the same time, I think trading Leinart would be a good idea. He is anxious to play but it shouldn’t be here. I’m sure a trade could be made for a clipboard holder as good as he is.

Other decisions also have to be made. What about the unhappy Anquan Boldin? What about Dansby? Edgerrrin James probably won’t be back and, although he has been ineffective, who would replace him. Hightower? Maybe.

So, the hype is over, the Cards played valiantly and lost. It’s only a football game and we will recover but we have to thank the team for their efforts and praise Coach Whisenhunt and his staff. As far as a parade, I don’t think it would be appropriate. Parades are for the winners, no one ever proudly exclaimed "We’re Number 2!"

By the way, pitchers and catchers report for spring training in two weeks. Go Diamondbacks!

Routine items becoming extinct

Who remembers the first video played on MTV? The date was August 1, 1981 and the song was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by a British group called The Buggles. It was appropriate as MTV spelled the beginning of the end for pop Top 40 radio as we knew it. In Phoenix, stations like KRIZ and KRUX battled it out for supremacy in the AM pop music market during the 60's and 70's, but by 1978 with the influx of FM rock and the dawn of videos, those stations disappeared.

While MTV was largely responsible for the demise of Top 40 radio, it is not the only invention that has made an impact on the passing parade. Many of the items we took for granted a few years ago are now disappearing as new, and usually better, items appear to take their place. A friend in New Hampshire recently sent me a list of items that will probably be extinct in America within the next few years. Here are a few:

LAND LINE PHONES...Here are the stats: At the end of 2007, one in six homes was cell only. In the homes that had land lines, one in eight received calls only on their cells.

NETWORK NEWS ON TV...In 1984 the three major networks had an audience of 41 million for the evening news. It is now half that.

DRIVE-IN MOVIES...In their peak year of 1958 there were 4,000 drive-ins in the U.S. In 2007, it was down to 405, with at least one being in Tempe on McClintock..

HAND WRITTEN LETTERS...With 183 billion emails sent daily and 3.3 billion people owning cell phones worldwide, where is there room for a polite, elegant, hand written letter? Unless you have a sweet grandmother, forget about it.

VCR’s...They are REALLY extinct having been replaced by DVD’s, then DVR’s. Don’t even ask me what a Blue Ray is, it sounds like something from a 1950's sci-fi movie by Ed Wood.

CLASSIFIED ADS IN THE NEWSPAPER...With Google Base, Craigslist, and ebay, do we need classifieds in the paper? As a double whammy, will we need the paper? We’ve discussed the future of newspapers recently in this space. (See blogs of 1-26-09 and 12-02-08).

CAMERAS THAT USE FILM...Even I have a digital camera. I know one person who still uses film.

There are some other items that are also becoming extinct like personal checks, answering machines, dial-up internet, and movie rental stores, but I think the above list gets the point across. To those of us of a certain age, we understand that progress is inevitable and most of us are happy to take advantage of it. I still hate cell phones because of what they have done to people in the form of rudeness and the danger with their use behind the wheel. However, If I was still out peddling and working a territory, I would be using one as much as anyone. I would be a bit more discreet with mine than some of the ill mannered people I have seen, though.

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OBAMA: STRIKES? SPARES? HUH?

BARACK UNLEASHES ANOTHER GUTTER BALL


Obama’s followers think he can walk on water and I have no proof that he can’t since I have never seen him give it a shot (ice doesn’t count as "water"), but I doubt if he can. One thing I KNOW he can’t do is bowl. You may say, "What?" Bowling is America, it is apple pie, Blue Ribbon beer, and Chevrolets. Who hasn’t got the gang together sometime in their life and thrown a few lines at the local bowling center?

I’m not saying that everyone is or was a great bowler but even if a guy took his high school sweetheart, who never bowled a game in her life, on a bowling date, she could usually shoot a 75 or 80. In bowling, 300 is a perfect game so 75 or 80 is pretty bad which brings me to the subject of Mr. Obama’s prowess on the bowling lanes.

Last year Obama and his Gucci suited entourage rolled into Altoona, Pennsylvania seeking some important blue collar votes. Since bowling is a big deal in that area, Barack decided to show what a regular guy he was by bowling a game at the local bowling establishment. So, off came the suit coat and with his tie flapping against his white shirt, our future president proceeded to bowl a rousing score of 37 (Check out this one minute YouTube). That means that with ten pins on the lane per frame and ten frames per game, he averaged 3.7 pins per frame. You are allowed two throws per frame so that tells you something about his ability.

Okay, so he is not a bowler, but 37 is still really bad. The late night TV guys had a good time with this. Jimmy Kimmel said that "I bowled a 37 when I was a baby. And, I was drunk, by the way." Conan O’Brien joked that afterwards, Obama said, "That’s it, no more white guy sports for me."

Fast forward to 2009. Barack Obama is now the President of the United States and with the busy schedule he has had since the bowling fiasco, I’m sure he hasn’t had a chance to polish his bowling skills. Originally, there was even a rumor that he was going to remove the bowling lane that President Truman had installed in the White House in 1947. However, the 67 million bowlers in the country are now rejoicing as the President announced in a recent Barbara Walters interview that he will keep the bowling lane in an effort to improve his game.

Who said this guy isn’t a diplomat?

The cycles of history

There were wars and revolutions overseas and terrorist attacks in New York and on Wall Street. The country was in recession and the outgoing president was increasingly unpopular. Unlikely dark horse candidates were chosen by the Democrats and the Republicans to run for president.

One publication suggested party platforms containing four planks. Those planks were: America, Law, Order, Work. Taken together, those spelled no more than common sense. Taken together they would automatically end hysteria. They also would automatically dispose of the question of which shall occupy the grave...Europeanism or Americanism. They were disposed to assign the role of the deceased to the former. It was time to bury anarchy in America and open up a new country to actual law, actual order, and actual work.

Pray observe, there is no labor plank in that platform. There was a better word. It meant much that "labor" does not mean today. It was a short word, but one of the biggest and best in our language: Work!

Wall Street was in a chronic state of being reviled, and more or less rightly so, for its part in absorbing credit. It was a place where, among other activities, men had formed a habit of buying more stocks than they could afford to pay for out of their own resources. These purchasers borrowed money from their brokers to make payment, and in turn the brokers borrowed from such banks as would lend to them.

Does the above piece sound familiar? We know about terrorist attacks in New York, not just on 9-11 but the attack on the twin towers in 1993. We still have Iraq and Afghanistan overseas. We know about recession and a departing unpopular president and I would consider Obama and McCain as dark horse candidates.

Many want a strong America and have no interest in global poverty taxes to fix up the rest of the world that hates us anyway. Law, Order, and Work are still strong points for many regardless of the push for more welfare plans and looking the other way on illegal immigration..

Wall Street is a mess and the credit situation is out of control. Unemployment and foreclosures are increasing every day.

By the way, the above italicized comments were printed on the Opinion page of The Saturday Evening Post on February 14, 1920. Who says history doesn’t repeat itself?

NOTE TO READERS: I also write for azcentral in Arizona. Some of the blogs are duplicates of what you read here but contain many comments from local readers. To check it out click "Jim's azcentral Blog" under links on the sidebar. Thanks, JM

Put 'em in debtor's prison

What a world this has become. People used to accept responsibility for their actions. Now, we constantly hear "It’s not my fault."

Once upon a time, no one would consider buying anything for other than cash. Occasionally you would meet someone who had a "charge-it plate" from a department store but in most cases people saved for the things they wanted and paid cash for them. Others bought items "on time" and put them in "layaway" which meant that they did not get the item from the merchant until it was paid for.

Today, it is a different story. Many people have to have everything that comes down the pike and they have to have it NOW. Credit cards have been issued indiscriminately to people with bad credit who ignore their financial difficulties and charge items like there is no tomorrow. I’m sure they have no intention of ever paying for the junk they have bought but, oh, what the hell, maybe they can get another credit card to cover it.

Have you heard the ads on the radio for debt consolidation companies? What an industry they have going. They have some loser announce that he just can’t stand it anymore having all the phone calls from people wanting him to pay his bills. The poor guy: He went crazy with his credit cards and now can’t pay them. Imagine that, creditors wanting their money, the nerve of some people. But wait, there is a solution! He can call ACE Debt Consolidation and they will get his debt reduced by 60%!!

Here is what those guys do. They take on the sucker’s debts and make sure nothing is paid on them for at least 90 days. At the end of that time, the guy usually has accumulated a few bucks so they call the bank that holds his credit card and tell them that they can cover about 40% of the debt if they are willing to dismiss the rest. The bank figures they are lucky to get that much so they take it and charge off the rest as a bad debt. The bank has lost money and the credit card holder enters the deadbeat file. ACE gets a fee, of course.

I have never defaulted on a loan or credit card in my life so it annoys me that people can get away with not paying their debts. Knowing that their credit is shot is no comfort to me, someone else will probably give them a new credit card anyway. Paying your debts is about being a good citizen and showing you are honorable. Unfortunately, for many, that doesn’t matter.

College sports are too important

Do we really need 34 college football bowl games? Going to a bowl used to be an honor set aside only for the most elite teams. There were four major bowls: Orange, Cotton, Sugar, and the most important of all, the Rose Bowl. There were two other bowls one step below those four: The Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. The Gator and Tangerine were played just after Christmas and the other four were played on New Year’s Day.

If a team wanted to play in those bowls they had to have a record of 10-0 or 9-1 which was typical in the era of 10 game seasons. Only the best of the best played in a bowl game. Today, a team can make a bowl with a 6-6 record and at the rate the bowls are proliferating, teams with losing records will soon be eligible.

I realize it is all about the money as most of the bowls have sponsors now. Some are pretty comical. Remember the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl? The Papa John’s Pizza Bowl? My favorite this year was the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. Whew! That’s a mouthful.

I think the next new bowl should be the Dakota Beer Who Cares? Bowl to be played outdoors in Fargo, North Dakota on New Years’s Day. A great match could be Slippery Rock Teachers College vs. Alabama School of Cosmetology. It would probably be as interesting as the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho between Maryland 8-5 and Nevada 7-6.

My next statement will probably have some of you in an outrage but here goes: I think collegiate sports have become too big a deal. Coaches are now recruiting kids from junior high school for college teams. That’s how important winning has become. I haven’t heard of any coaches going after kids for their academic achievements but, of course, who cares about that?

The Ivy League has the right idea, they offer NO athletic scholarships. If you want to play football you simply go out for the team; everybody is a "walk-on." Academics is the name of the game at schools like Harvard, Yale, and Penn. Sports are fine but they are secondary.

I remember many years ago when Harvard and Princeton were playing for the Ivy League Football Championship. The Princeton quarterback was the best player on either team and he didn’t play in that game. Why? Because he had to spend that Saturday at the library to finish an important paper that was due the following Monday.

To the football freaks, that probably sounds ridiculous. To me, I admired that kid. Colleges are for academics first, not sports. For the sports fans who need a team to root for, there are plenty of professional teams out there who play for a living. Pick one and let colleges do what they are best at: academics. Who knows? Maybe we will catch up with the rest of the world academically someday.

My alma mater is The University of Cincinnati. Once a basketball power, Cincy now is among the "also rans." Why? Because a new school president (Nancy Zimpher) insisted that the players actually attend class, obey the law, and know how to read and write. Many fans thought it was an unreasonable request!! This is not unusual in college sports.

More tunes and Moorad

(left) Jeff Moorad

Five O’Clock World.....The Vogues (1966)
Workin’ in a Coal Mine.....Lee Dorsey (1961)
Dreamy Eyes.....Johnny Tillotson (1959)
Just Like Me.....Paul Revere and the Raiders (1966)
The Last Time.....The Rolling Stones (1965)
Tell Laura I Love Her.....Ray Peterson (1960)
Got To Get You Into My Life.....The Beatles (1966)
Hold On! I’m Coming.....Sam and Dave (1966)
I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite,,,,,Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart (1968)
Crimson and Clover.....Tommy James and The Shondells (1968)

The above are the last ten songs played this morning on Music Choice “Solid Gold.” through Cox Cable. Every song has a memory but I won’t dwell on that since my 12-28 blog pretty much covered it. However, I’m sitting here with a snoot full of Saturday morning coffee and felt a bit rambunctious so there you are. Another cup and I may switch to ‘80s techno pop. Maybe I can catch Gary Numan and “Cars.” Cox has every genre you can think of plus I am saving a fortune on aluminum foil for my former rabbit ears.

RATS DESERTING SINKING SHIP?.....Jeff Moorad has resigned as CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks and hopes to buy the San Diego Padres. That’s fine with me, I never did like him. He used to be a player’s agent and to me those guys are at the bottom of the food chain.

After that stint, he decided to switch sides and get into team management with the Diamondbacks. Now that they are hurting, he is moving on again. He owns 15-20% of the team so he will get about $70 million I guess.

So, what happens with the D-Backs now? Someone has to pick up that $70 million and this is a team that just canned 31 employees because of financial woes. They couldn’t afford to keep Randy Johnson or Orlando Hudson and probably will lose Brandon Webb when his contract is up. Add to that a declining economy, an unexciting team, and weak fan support even during the good times, and I don’t think the team’s future is “so bright I gotta wear shades” (Timbuk 3, 1986).

Meanwhile, two guys instrumental in the Diamondbacks’ early success who were eventually unceremoniously dumped, have to be sharing a good laugh as they watch the team flounder. Isn’t that right Jerry Colangelo and Luis Gonzalez? What goes around comes around and here it comes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Those oldies but goodies and you

Rick Derringer (left) and The McCoys did "Hang On Sloopy" in 1965

It doesn’t matter who you are or whether you are a man or a woman, you probably have a lot of old popular songs that are etched into your mind. Why are they there? Probably because music is one of the greatest sources of bringing back memories, whether good or bad. Is there anyone on Earth who doesn’t know some of the lyrics from "Louie, Louie"?

I was listening to Music Choice Solid Gold the other night on Cox Cable and it was like a trip back in time. Suddenly, I was remembering old cars I had, former girlfriends, and nights at the drive-in movies (I think I hold the record for the fewest movies seen at a drive-in between 1957 and 1961 and I’m damn proud of it!). Then there were the tunes from the military years, early days of a great marriage, and beyond. Songs are great memory makers, those old 2 ½ to 3 minute tunes are hard to forget. Here are some I heard recently and my recollections of them. What are some of your favorites and your memories of them?

1957: "Diana," by Paul Anka, "Wake Up Little Susie," by The Everly Brothers. I turned 16 and started driving legally that summer. Those songs remind me of make out sessions in a ‘54 Ford.

1959: "Sleep Walk," by Santo and Johnny, "What’d I Say?" by Ray Charles. It was a great summer, met my first steady girl, drove a ‘57 Chevy to California on Route 66 to meet another girl. I was young, free, and life was good along with the music. Remember "Venus" by Frankie Avalon? "Pink Shoe Laces" by Dodie Stevens?

1961: "Runaround Sue" by Dion, "Runnin’ Scared" by Roy Orbison, "Moody River" by Pat Boone. I was 20, had a girl, a job, went water skiing almost every day until September when Uncle Sam called.

1962: "Peppermint Twist" by Joey Dee and the Starlighters, "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler, "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva. Stationed near Kansas City, no more girl friend but still had my ‘57 Chevy and chances to meet new girls. Sorry, Nancy, It was fun while it lasted.

1963: "It’s My Party" by Lesley Gore, "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer, "Surf City" by Jan and Dean. Back from Germany, partying a lot in Kansas City, eating at McDonald’s so I had more money for drinking. Listening to the tunes on "Yours truly WHB,"AM radio full blast.

1965: "Downtown" by Petula Clark, "Help Me, Rhonda" by The Beach Boys, "Yesterday" by The Beatles. Discharged from Air Force in September, back to Cincinnati and college. Met future wife Barb a month after hitting town. The number one tune when I met her? "Hang on Sloopy" by The McCoys with lead guitarist Rick Derringer ("Rock and Roll Hoochie-Coo").

I could go on but you know what I mean. Most of my stuff may be a bit old unless you are Don, Tom Moore, or animadvert, some of my contemporaries. Don’t be afraid of the newer stuff. I remember disco, electronic ‘80s stuff, Madonna, Falco, Rockwell, Phil Collins, Supertramp, Rush, U2, Kim Wilde, etc. If it’s hip-hop or rap, though, forget it. I have to draw the line somewhere!

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in their "Beach Party" days. His "Venus" was a big hit in 1959. It was great drive-in song.

Have a great holiday

Christmas 1968 in cold Ohio

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE AND I WANT TO WISH A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FROM JIM, BARB, AND TINKER. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY IN 2008 AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE BLOGS IN 2009.