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What I Heard This Week 02-22-2024

What I Heard This Week February 21, 2024

 

In Arizona (you thought I was going to say Florida, didn’t you), an alligator floating in a pond received quite a few 911 calls from concerned residents. One person reported they saw three live alligators – one under the bridge and one that was swimming around; while another person stated that the alligator bit their boyfriend’s fishing line and they had to cut it. The only problem was that the very realistic-looking, single alligator was made of foam and had been placed there by the City of Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities so that the ducks, birds, turtles, and other animals would have a place to gather and hang out. They also added a fake crocodile and two fake hippos. This is one good example of why you can’t believe everything you hear… read… OR SEE.


More positive vacation news. A disruptive incident (fistfight/brawl) occurred onboard, in the air, on a Southwest flight from Oakland to Kauai. There is even an available video, foul language, hitting and blood. The two men are now facing criminal charges of up to $37,000. Together or each – don’t know. I just hope it includes jail time, losing their jobs, plus a lifetime ban on flying. It just doesn’t make any sense that people are so unhappy, now believing that any kind of behavior is acceptable.


I have officially resigned from adulthood. Decisions will be made using the eenie-meenie-miney-moe method and arguments will be settled by sticking out my tongue. I’ll be at recess if you need me.


Have you heard of West Side Story, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, or the song, Send in the Clowns? This past weekend I worked with several new and old friends, bussing tables and washing dishes as ticket holders were served a Valentine dinner of salad, lasagna, and crème brulee during a musical presentation of Side by Side by Sondheim at Center Stages.  We are so lucky to have such talented individuals in our community to pull off something as grand as this performance, especially since tickets were just $40, for dinner theatre! Even better were discussions of the lyrics of the Sondheim songs I heard from Mary while we worked.  If you think you might enjoy being a volunteer in art, theater, science, space, or music, or even washing dishes, there is a place for you at The Center for the Arts and Sciences. They are having a Volunteer Open House on March 2 from 11 am to 1 pm. This will give you an opportunity to check out the art gallery & studio, two theaters, science museum, and planetarium, all while visiting with staff and volunteers. There are opportunities for museum attendants, set builders, art classes, servers at intermission… the list is endless. Volunteering helps you live longer, relieves stress as it releases endorphins that encourages prosocial behavior, empathy, concern for others, and puts you in such a good mood that you don’t get into fights on planes. Surely, I have convinced you! If you want to volunteer, you couldn’t ask for a better place. Questions: Contact ahelms@bcfas.org or 979-265-7661. This Thursday is the BASF Planetarium Scholastic Bowl, an evening of trivia and fun. You may want to have your own team answering questions about art, science, pop culture and local interests. It is SO MUCH FUN.


I was raised to be charming, not sincere. Stephen Sondheim


Daylight Saving Time: I am really enjoying the daylight lasting longer each day. Teller and I go walking downtown in the afternoons, and he really enjoys it, smelling and hiking his leg on EVERYTHING. On March 10, 2024, if all goes well, we will SPRING forward again.


Charlotte the Stingray, age 12-14 years, is about to give birth…any day now. The problem is that Charlotte hasn’t been around any male stingrays in her tank at the North Carolina aquarium. One possibility is either Larry or Moe mated with Charlotte… but Larry and Moe are little sharks. The only other explanation is that Charlotte is going through a very rare process called parthenogenesis, where eggs develop on their own without fertilization and create a clone of the mother. The last study of parthenogenesis in stingrays took place 25 years ago. When Charlotte gives birth (she could have as many as four pups), and if they survive, they will have to double the size of Charlotte’s current home. DNA testing can then be performed to determine if they’re a mixed breed (mutt) or clones of their mother. They called it a once in a blue moon experience. Isn’t science and nature great. Where there is a will, there is a way.


“In French, you don’t say ‘I miss you.’ You say, ‘Tu me manques’, which means ‘you are missing from me.’ I love that.”


According to the Presidential Greatness Project, the New Survey of Scholars finds Abraham Lincoln is the favorite and remains America’s Greatest President. Here is the list. Some may surprise you; some may NOT surprise you.
2024 Ranking of Presidents
#1. Lincoln  2.FD Roosevelt  3.Washington  4.T Roosevelt  5.Jefferson  6.Truman  7.Obama  8. Eisenhower  9.LB Johnson  10.Kennedy  11.Madison  12.Clinton  13.J Adams  14.Biden  15.Wilson  16.Reagan  17.Grant  18.Monroe  19.GHW Bush  20.JQ Adams  21.Jackson  22.Carter  23.Taft  24.McKinley  25.Polk  26.Cleveland  27.Ford  28.Van Buren  29.Hayes  30.Garfield  31.Harrison  32.GW Bush  33.Arthur  34.Coolidge  35.Nixon  36.Hoover  37.Tyler  38.Taylor  39.Fillmore 40.Harding  41.Harrison  42.Pierce  43.Johnson  44.Buchanan  45.Trump.


Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world, but it has not solved one yet. Maya Angelou


Golf legend Tiger Woods announced his 27-year partnership with Nike is over. This comes right after Nike announced plans to cut $2 billion in costs over the next three years. Velvet Taco is opening their first airport location at Hobby. If you have never, ever had a Velvet Taco, you’re in for a treat. Cat Food: I’ve said this before, check the ingredients in your cat food. Many popular brands, even ones labeled healthy or natural, contain powdered cellulose derived from wood pulp, also known as sawdust.


Estate Planning: Legendary songwriter genius, Beach Boy Brian Wilson recently lost his wife of almost 30 years. She was his caregiver and managed his daily needs before her death on January 30. But there was no successor to his late wife. His family has now filed to put Wilson under a conservatorship because of his recent diagnosis of dementia. Two longtime Brian Wilson representatives, his publicist and manager, will now oversee his personal and medical decisions, but not his estate and finances.  Jay Leno has filed for conservatorship over his wife’s estate after her dementia diagnosis, in order to create a living trust so that she has managed assets in case of his death.


Sitting here at my desk eating the remains of my lunch, a salad from Luby’s with sunflower seeds, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, purple cabbage, mushrooms and of course, lettuce. There are so few places in town to get a good to-go side salad, so I just thought I should remind you. It was such a nice addition to my lunch of my roasted chicken, fried okra, and mashed potatoes. Yeah, Luby’s. Liver and onions next week.


You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.  Oscar Wilde


Capital One is set to buy Discover for $35.3 billion. The credit card industry is dominated by Visa, Mastercard and American Express, with Discover in 4th place. The most interesting part of this is hearing Americans are deep in debt with a record high of more than $1.1 trillion. On the morning news it said 49% of cardholders carry debt from month to month, and an average credit card balance is $6,088. The Rule of Thumb: pay off your credit card balance every month except for emergencies. A $5.25 Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is NOT an emergency.


William “Bill” Post died at 96. Who in the heck is Bill Post? Well, in the early 60’s, he was plant manager at Hekman Biscuit Co. One day a bunch of suits (VP’s) showed up with their vision – a piece of pie in the shape of a slice of bread, complete with fork marks around the edge… basically just two pieces of dough with filling. The guys requested they needed something like that… except they wanted it toaster-ready. Post promised them he would have something in two weeks. They were originally called fruit scones, but Andy Warhol’s pop art was very popular, so it became Pop-Tarts. In 1964, there was strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon and apple currant. In 2022 consumers bought 3 billion Pop Tarts…that’s almost a billion dollars in pop-tarts sales. I know I ate plenty when I was a kid. Bet you did too. Hope you have a great weekend.

Thanks for reading us this week. Please sell something.

Lisa


Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com

What I Heard This Week 05-12-2022

What I Heard This Week May 11, 2022

The overhead aerial shot that was used on the replay of the (80-1 longshot) Rich Strike’s run to win the Kentucky Derby was just incredible! Supposedly it was taken from a plane. I could watch it over and over again. In fact, I did watch it over and over again. The leader horses came out really fast. In fact, the opening quarter mile time of 21.78 seconds was the fastest ever recorded in Derby history. The first seven horses to hit the quarter-mile mark finished: 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 18th, and 20th. They were dead tired by the time Rich Strike tossed his cigarette butt, and huskily stated under his breath, “I can take this,” starting his charge from the end of a 20-horse pack, straight to the win. Rich Strike’s original owners sold him for just $30,000 back in September. He wasn’t even in the race until Friday about 30 seconds before the deadline, when another horse dropped out. Rich Strike earned $1.86 million for just his second career victory.  


An Austin woman who has been reselling antiques for 11 years, got a pretty good deal on her purchase of a 52lb., $34.99 marble bust from a Goodwill thrift store in 2018. Years later, Sotheby’s eventually confirmed that the bust was estimated to be about 2,000 years old, came from ancient Rome, and likely belonged to Roman military leader Sextus Pompey. Pompey’s father was Pompey the Great, a political ally turned enemy of Julius Caesar. Germany technically still owns the bust and anticipates getting it back in May of next year and displaying it in the Pompejanum, a replica of a Roman house based on excavations, located in Bavaria, Germany.


Never miss a good chance to shut up.” – Will Rogers


Today, someone posted a video of a dumpster outside Target ‘somewhere’ full of brand-new bikes. There were even unopened boxes of new bikes not yet put together. Their comment was “maddening, shameful and disgusting waste.” I would have to hear the rest of the story before I cast blame. Isn’t there a bike shortage right now? One article said it was because of tax reasons. Wasteful.


After just four minutes of bidding, one of Andy Warhol’s famed portraits of Marilyn Monroe sold for a record $195 million to an art dealer known as Go-Go. The pop art piece, “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” is now the most expensive 20th century artwork ever sold. Warhol painted the piece in 1964. The previous record for a 20th-century artwork was set in 2015, when Pablo Picasso’sLes Femmes d ‘Alger (Version O)” sold for $179.4 million. This is a perfect example of Blue Chip art, which is any art that’s expected to reliably increase in economic value regardless of the general economic conditions. Artists like Picasso, Warhol, Rothko and Pollock are Blue Chip. The article I read said that since 2000, the top of the art market has appreciated at an average annual rate of 8.9%, while the stock market has trailed it significantly, growing at a rate of 3.4% in the same time-frame.


Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.”- Billy Sunday


A couple of months ago I thought of something that I needed to ‘remember’ while I was in my bathroom at the office, so instead of walking to my desk and getting a pen, I took an eyebrow pencil and tried to write myself a message on the mirror. The only problem was the pencil didn’t want to mark on the slick mirror so there was quite a bit of skipping on the letters. Like a bunch of skipping. No problem. I told myself that it didn’t matter because there was just enough of the letters there to remind me of what I needed to do. Well, it’s been months and every single time I go into the bathroom, I look at the mirror and try to figure out what I wrote. I still don’t have a clue.


RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor Buck Taylor is 84. He was gunsmith-turned-deputy Newly O’Brian in the CBS television series Gunsmoke. Actor Harvey Keitel is 83. Actor Frances Fisher is 70. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 72. Actor Pierce Brosnan is 69. Actor Debra Winger is 67. Singer Janet Jackson is 56. Actor Tracey Gold of Growing Pains is 53. Keyboardist Rick Wakeman of Yes is 73. Drummer Bill Bruford of Yes is 73. Singer Enya is 61. Singer Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block is 52. Country singer Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys is 74. Singer Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo is 72. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 86.

Musician Pete Townshend of The Who is 77. Singer-actor Cher is 76. TV personality David Hartman is 87. Actor Nancy Kwan is 83. Singer-actor-model Grace Jones is 71. Drummer Phil Rudd of AC/DC is 68. Singer Susan Cowsill of The Cowsills is 63. Singer Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers is 81. Keyboardist Bill Champlin of Chicago is 75. Singer Leo Sayer is 74. When I Need You. Comedian and former U.S. Senator Al Franken is 71. Actor Mr. T is 70. Country singer George Strait is 70. Comedian Stephen Colbert is 58.


Last week country music lost legends Mickey Gilley and Naomi Judd. Gilley died at 86 after being diagnosed with bone cancer. Gilley’s great career in country music included 39 Top-10 hits and 17 Number-1 songs. He was a cousin of Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart and had survived car and plane crashes. His life and career changed in 1980 when he teamed with Johnny Lee to provide the music and setting for Urban Cowboy with John Travolta.  The movie was partially filmed at Gilley’s famous nightclub in Pasadena, Texas, and started a new popularity for country music and bars that offered line dancing and mechanical bulls. Quite a change from disco balls and Saturday Night Fever, which was popular at the time. Gilley sold his namesake theater in Branson, Mo. a few years back, but was still scheduled to perform this past weekend with Johnny Lee for their Urban Cowboys Ride Again show.

Mike Hagerty, the building superintendent Mr. Treeger on Friends and Seinfeld, died at 67.


It’s the largest single-day food drive in the nation. Every second Saturday in May (that’s this Saturday so don’t forget!), letter carriers collect goodness and compassion of their postal customers (that’s YOU), who simply leave non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail. Letter carriers will collect these food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes, and distribute them to local food banks, pantries, shelters, and churches. It’s so EASY. Go ahead and put your sack or box out so you don’t forget to fill it for Saturday morning.


It’s been so hot that the trees are bribing the dogs.


This is from an old post but since I had never thought about it, so maybe you need to know too… some parents woke when their young son came running in screaming that his 3-year-old sister had somehow locked herself inside their new front-loading washing machine, and it was filling up with water and tumbling. A sibling had turned on the washer after closing the door. I knew that abandoned refrigerators pose a risk, but front-loading washers, and especially dryers, also pose a safety risk for children due to the potential for accidental entrapment, which occurs when a small child climbs into an open washer or dryer and the door is closed. A sibling unaware of the hazard or even an unsuspecting adult may then turn on the appliance with the child inside. Yes, there are safety locks you can install. Sometimes when I am folding clothes, my most curious cat Sully, quietly jumps into the dryer. I never thought about the cat getting hurt.


In the middle of a funeral procession in Peru, mourners carrying a coffin heard a strange knocking sound from inside the coffin, which was placed on the ground and opened. The recent car-wreck victim was alive and gasping for air. She was rushed to the hospital, put on life support, but died a few hours later. Some family members believe a coma may have been improperly diagnosed as a death.


Actor Bill Murray said his behavior, “I did something I thought was funny,” but it “wasn’t taken that way,” on the set of a new film, which led to a film shoot shutdown. The comedian said his actions resulted in a complaint from an unnamed woman. Dave Chappelle says he refuses to let the onstage attack overshadow his comedy shows. Local sweetheart, talented singer, actor, dancer and very first winner of “Models of the RunwayKalyn Hemphill, is expecting twins. Reese Witherspoon has written a children’s book based on her adventures from her childhood, about being a busy kid with a million ideas and lots of energy. The book, Busy Betty will be released in the fall. Dolly Parton stated earlier that she doesn’t feel she earned the right to be nominated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. BUT she has now reconsidered. “I am honored and humbled by the fact that I have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Parton wrote. “Of course, I will accept it gracefully. Thanks to everyone that voted for me and to everyone at the @rockhall. I will continue to work hard and try to live up to the honor.”


A Lubbock man was arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child, which happened in 2021.  The day it happened, the child’s mother called 911 saying she had just found her (29-year-old) boyfriend naked, in bed with her 7-year-old daughter, and that she needed an officer quickly because the man was running away. (I’m taking out the profanity, but the story is one that all parents will understand.) The dispatcher asked, “And he’s your boyfriend?” The mother responded, “He’s supposed to be, but you hurry up or I’m going to kill him. I’m going to ******* kill him. Please hurry, please hurry. I’m fixing to kill him, hurry please, please hurry, please ******* hurry. He’s jumping the fence. He’s ******* jumping the fence. Hurry.” Then 911 heard the woman tell the child to get in the car. The dispatcher asked if the child was ok. The mother said, “Yes, I got home just on time.” She continued following him in her car. There was a loud sound and 911 said, “Did you just hit him?” The woman said, “Yes, he jumped right in front of my car, he jumped right in front of my car, sir.” At this point, I was laughing so hard and rooting for that mom. The child was later able to give specific details about the assault which led to his arrest.


Still hard-working 100-year-old style maven, Iris Apfel, quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed, a woman who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades, is launching an H&M collection of playful, festive, and fun clothing. There is a 2014 documentary about this amazing and talented woman. It’s a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes if that’s any indication of the appeal, and well worth a watch. She has style and knows how to use it, dressing herself each day like she is painting a picture.  Her costume jewelry collection is one of the best.  “A woman is as old as she looks, but a man is never old until he stops looking.” A quote from Iris’s grandfather. So true.


This is just a little FYI for you. As you know, Connie and I have been delivering papers the past few months. It’s not a bad job, but sometimes it takes you away from something you really like, like going home or eating. During our travels, I discovered a little place called Gaspachos El Charro, located in the former French bakery building in Richwood. They have a fruit cup that is fantastic, finished off with a little salt and lime. I’ll miss picking up a cup while I’m delivering, BECAUSE someone else has taken over the route for now… I hope. Have a great weekend and thank you for reading us.

LISA


Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com

What I Heard This Week! 09-02-2021

What I Heard This Week September 1, 2021

This still has me thinking. There are hot glue guns, Elmer’s, epoxy adhesive, and a multitude of other DIY products to help make your life easier as you repair stuff around your house or stick things together. In India, a 25-year-old man went to a hotel with his former fiancée, wanting to have an intimate moment, but didn’t have any condoms. So, in order to prevent pregnancy, he reportedly used an epoxy resin to seal his privates, basically gluing his penis shut. The next day, an acquaintance found the man unconscious, outside in the bushes. Apparently, he quickly died of what was described as multi-organ failure. Unfortunately, this couple might have also been using drugs, which could have impaired their thinking, leading them to believe that they were building a bird house with balsa wood, or oak. Regardless, this was not a good idea. It is never a good idea to ever use glue on any of your privates. Never. And never drink bleach. Never. Just because it doesn’t say not to do it on a package, it does not give you an excuse to use something in an improper way. If you’re old enough to have a relationship with someone, then do it properly. Ouch. No one mentioned what happened to the girl.


Mike Richards is no longer executive producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, effective immediately. He taped five episodes before his world unraveled, which will still air. Hmmm. Talk about going from the top of the heap to discarded coffee grounds, in just mere moments. In our world now, everything we accomplish, or don’t accomplish is public, so watch what you do, watch what you say, or it could take you down later. Remember character is who you are when you don’t think anyone is looking. Ha. Everyone is looking.


The Girl Scout’s 2022 cookie season is still months away, but good news.  Come 2022 the Girl Scouts will introduce a new cookie, Adventurefuls, a brownie-cookie hybrid with caramel-flavored crème and a hint of sea salt.


We all have a place at the campfire. It was the Girl Scouts who first taught me that.  Gloria Steinem


The SPCA in LJ desperately needs your help, monetary donations, or donations of supplies. Please provide if you can. A highly contagious distemper outbreak is costing $50 – $75 per animal to test for this incurable virus. Covid has been tough for them, and now this…


Listen up: Effective September 1st, if you or your property are damaged from a defective or dangerous product on Amazon sold by a third party, Amazon will compensate you up to $1,000. The company says it will deal with customer satisfaction and tackle the companies afterward if third parties are unresponsive or unwilling to compensate valid claims. Sounds like buyers are now in charge of testing. Bet there are dishonest people right now figuring out a way to turn this around to benefit themselves.


According to Mayo Clinic, hiccups are involuntary contractions of the diaphragm – the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen and plays an important role in breathing. Each contraction is followed by a sudden closure of your vocal cords, which produces the characteristic “hic” sound. Hiccups may result from a large meal, alcoholic or carbonated beverages or sudden excitement. While he was working as an anesthesiologist 20 years ago, Dr. Ali Seifi saw many surgery patients in recovery who developed hiccups. The doctor invented a treatment called the HiccAway, which is shaped like a smoker’s pipe. One end is submerged into a cup of water, while on the other end you draw water through the pipe, like a straw. Because of negative suction, it pulls down the diaphragm, which triggers a nerve that regulates your diaphragm. When water enters your mouth, the brain wants to swallow, so it closes the flap in your throat that prevents food or water from entering the windpipe and lungs, also signaling the vocal cords, which eases your hiccups. Just a little more useless, but interesting information.


RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Romance novelist Danielle Steel is 74. Actor Susan Olsen is 60. Little Cindy on The Brady Bunch. Actor-TV personality Arlene Dahl is 96. What’s My Line? Actor Melanie Griffith is 64. Comedian JoAnne Worley is 84. Country singer David Allan Coe is 81. Singer-bassist Roger Waters of Pink Floyd is 77. Actor Swoosie Kurtz is 76. Comedian-actor Jane Curtin is 73. Actor Susan St. James is 75. Actor-comedian Jeff Foxworthy is 62. News correspondent Elizabeth Vargas is 58. Country singer Mark Chesnutt is 57. Actor Tom Wopat is 69. Bo Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard. Actor Hugh Grant is 60.

Singer Gloria Gaynor is 77. Never Can Say Goodbye. Actor Heather Thomas of The Fall Guy is 63. Actor Topol of Fiddler on the Roof is 85. Guitarist John McFee of The Doobie Brothers is 70. Musician-producer Dave Stewart of Eurythmics is 68. Singer Jose Feliciano is 75. Actor Amy Irving is 67. Actor Kristy McNichol is 58. Musician Moby is 55. Singer Harry Connick Jr. is 53. Actor Linda Gray of Dallas is 80. Singer Maria Muldaur is 78. Actor Rachel Ward is 63. Actor Angela Cartwright of The Danny Thomas Show & Lost in Space is 68.


Ed Asner, the longtime TV icon who holds the record for most Primetime Emmys earned by a male actor, died at 91. Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant, Rich Man Poor Man, Roots.


Jessica Chastain says the make-up she wore to portray televangelist Tammy Faye was so heavy it caused permanent damage to her skin, plus it took between 4 to 7.5 hours to apply. The actor said the role involved the most prosthetics she had ever worn, and that Faye’s make-up in the film gets heavier as she aged. Until further notice, Memorial Hermann has closed three of its Houston area 24-hour emergency rooms due to the surge of COVID-19 cases and its impact on its system operations. Governor Abbott is now asking hospitals to voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures and surgeries, in order to increase hospital capacity for Covid patients as coronavirus cases rise.


Campbell’s soup cans are getting their first redesign in 50 years. It is very subtle. I couldn’t even tell. In 1962, a little-known artist named Andy Warhol opened a small show at a gallery in LA. His subject was Campbell’s Soup. Each of his 32 paintings portrayed a different flavor in the lineup, from Tomato to Pepper Pot and Cream of Celery. Warhol was almost 34 years old, and it was his first solo painting exhibit. He had spent almost a decade as a top commercial artist, working with high-end advertising clients like Tiffany & Co. and Dior. He was determined to become a real artist, recognized by museums and critics alike. The Pop art style had begun, but his show was not very well received. Another art dealer down the street arranged real cans of Campbell’s Soup in his window, along with a sign that read: “Do Not Be Misled. Get the Original. Our Low Price – Two for 33 Cents.” One of Warhol’s gallery owners from the original show, ended up buying the entire 32 painting collection for $1000, paid out over 10 months. By 1964, the asking price for a single soup can painting not in the original set was costing up to $1,500, and NY socialites were wearing paper dresses in a soup can print, custom-made by Warhol himself, to gallery openings. Campbell’s Soup jumped on the very popular fad of paper dresses, coming out with the Souper Dress, covered in Warhol soup labels. Each dress had three gold bands at the bottom, so the wearer could snip the dress to the ideal length without cutting into the soup can pattern. The price: $1 and two Campbell’s Soup labels. In 1996 The Museum of Modern Art bought the 32 paintings from the gallery owner as a combination gift and sale valued upwards of $15 million. Wow, from a $1000 investment. Even the Souper Dress has been declared a classic. Warhol himself had grown up with Campbell’s soup. He liked soup.  “I used to drink it,” he said. “I used to have the same lunch every day for 20 years.”


The idea is not to live forever, it is to create something that willAndy Warhol.


In Temple, a 28-year-old man and woman were having an argument while inside a car; she jumped out of the vehicle, then he tried to run over her. Instead, he crashed his car into a Discount Tire store. Karma. In League City, a 53-year-old man stabbed the manager of a Jack in the Box who asked him to put on a mask. An American Airlines passenger traveling from Dallas to Charlotte, tried to open the cabin door while in the air, then bit a flight attendant before being restrained. A rare baseball card depicting Pittsburgh Pirates legend Honus Wagner just sold for $6.6 million. The card was issued in American Tobacco Co. cigarette boxes from 1909 to 1911 and has been highly desired by collectors for years. The previous record was a 1952 Mickey Mantle card, which sold earlier this year for $5.2 million. Yikes. Insurance companies may start charging the unvaccinated, more for health insurance.


When I go to Target, I always shop the end isles first because they have sale items. Then I shop for what I need. I’m not a big candle person, but there was a candle marked down, called Weathered Birch, Sweet Tobacco – Mahogany. It is so nice, smelling faintly of my Uncle Harlon in his younger years. He smoked a pipe and always had the nicest aftershave, along with the best hugs. Out of stock online.


Reminder: Each residential, business, commercial and industrial building in LJ needs to have street numbers large enough to be seen by the public and shall not be less than 4 inches high. House numbers.


Country favorite, Sawyer Brown, will be the first concert of the season at The Clarion at Brazosport College. The October 16th, opening night concert, is sponsored by BASF. Concerts that follow the season are Jose Feliciano (I was raised on his music and who can forget Feliz Navidad), Tracy Byrd (Holdin’ Heaven was #1 on Billboard Country Charts), Paul Shaffer (yep, David Letterman’s sidekick for 33 years, plus he was part of original Saturday Night Live), Darrell Worley (17 chart hits), and early Thursday special event, Janet’s Planet. A sponsorship sure would look great for your company. Exciting news.


We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” Ralph Waldo Emerson


What did the buffalo say when her son left for college? Bison.


Well, my son Gage left for graduate school at Boston University on Sunday. I am proud to say that he applied for and received a three-year tuition scholarship and will soon be an official sound designer. Super proud of that. There were no tears at the airport but regret seeps in slowly, regret about all the things that we didn’t get to do when he was growing up. Regret, I’m sure, that all parents have because no matter how hard you work or play, there will always be unfinished and uncompleted stuff.  That’s because there will never be enough time or enough hours in the day, or enough money, to do it all. We were lucky because we had an extra 18 Covid months to be together. I WILL miss him. Gage is funny, he is a great cook, he is kind and considerate, and ‘most’ things positive. He has work ethic. He picks out good beer. He is a wealth of information about a multitude of topics. I will miss watching Boston Legal with him, but we have a plan. Watch it on our own and talk later about the episode. I will NOT miss going into the bathroom and finding no toilet paper. I will not miss his ongoing list of excuses for procrastination. I will not miss paying $135 water bills. I will not miss smart@&$ answers to my questions. I will not miss going to the refrigerator to make a casserole for breakfast only to find that he didn’t leave me any eggs. I will not miss picking up objects all over the house that don’t belong to me. I will not miss seeing him in the kitchen in his bathrobe at lunch time. I will not miss walking into the kitchen and seeing every single cabinet door open. I will not miss sending him to the store to pick up cheese and having him come back without the cheese. Hmmm. OR WILL I? Maybe, just maybe, I will miss all of those seemingly very unimportant things, plus more. Good luck Gage. It’s your time to shine and start life’s journey to your own future.  Bye, son. I Love You. So much that you won’t understand it until you have a child of your own.

Love, Mom

 

  • What I Heard This Week 10-26-2023

    by on October 25, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • What I Heard This Week 11-30-2023

    by on November 29, 2023 - 0 Comments

    Former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, recently remarried for the fourth time, which also happened to be on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. This time it was to Dr. Anca Faur, his 63-year-old, long-time companion (who looks like she wants to be 27), has a PhD in chemical engineering, and is now the executive vice president of Aldrin’s company, Buzz Aldrin Ventures.  He was first married to Joan Ann Archer in 1954 until divorcing in 1974. The next year he married Beverly Van Zile; they divorced after three years. His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon in 1988 on Valentine's Day, divorcing 23 years later. Looks like he hasn’t given up on ‘love’ quite yet. He has sued two of his children and his former business manager claiming they stole money from him and are slandering his legacy, and that they also undermined his "personal romantic relationships" by forbidding him from getting married. His children say he is also spending money at an alarming rate. Sounds like those children are out of luck. There is a new sheriff in town and her name is MRS. Aldrin. ☹ Notes: Aldrin is also a strong advocate for human exploration of Mars. In 2002, he escaped assault charges after punching a man who demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landing was not staged. Good for him. He also said, “Tang sucks. “

  • Much Ado About Nothing - Texan in Winter

    by on December 6, 2018 - 0 Comments

    The power went out at my house last night for four hours. While this may not seem like a major catastrophe as it was the middle of the night and […]

  • Much Ado About Nothing - “Human Bait”

    by on January 16, 2020 - 0 Comments

    My dad always told me to have a backup plan in case my current job doesn’t work out. I wasn’t sure what that’d be until I saw this ad: “HUMAN […]

  • What I Heard This Week! December 20, 2018

    by on December 20, 2018 - 0 Comments

    The AK-47 is a type of assault rifle originally manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1949. A 17-year-old Humble High School student accidently shot herself recently with an AK-47 that […]

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