It is with great sorrow that I tell you this. Actually… this first part has no sorrow. When I was 15, I wanted, as all 15-year-olds do, a car. My parents told me they would help me with the insurance if I could cover the payments. So, we shopped for my first car… a ’66 Mustang purchased for $800. My payments were $56 a month and my mom bought my first tank of gas which was probably $7 or $8. I can remember seeing gas war lines at the stations. I think on one occasion, the price per gallon dropped to 10 cents. It was the 70’s. Sorry. I have regressed, as I often do. Back to my story. In order to purchase the beautiful beige mustang with the black interior that poured water on my feet from under the dash almost every time I pushed on the brakes, I had to have a job. My daddy belonged to the Shreveport Business Executives and offered (boastingly) to find me a job with one of his buddies, which really ticked me off thinking that he didn’t have enough confidence in me to think I would be able to find my own job… I now realize that it was a very nice offer. Ah, the benefits of growing up.
There was a shopping center close to where we lived “as the crow flies” but to get there without the crow, you had to go all the way to the entrance of our subdivision, then get on a super busy 4-lane street with no sidewalks, then the mall was even further down the street. So instead, I walked the fence line close to our backyard, found a spot where the fencing was injured and wide, then took clippers and cut back some of the vegetation so I could pass through in a dress. This took me straight across two streets to the mall. I walked over and applied at Sears, was hired and went to work in the Jr. Clothing Dept. Sometimes if I was lucky, I got to work in the Candy Department which was fabulous. I earned the money I needed for the down payment on the car and my parents financed the rest. I loved that car.
So, the moral of this story (if there actually is one) is that things have changed since we were 15-years old. The majority of my co-workers here at the office have also been working non-stop since they were 15-years-old. But things change… and the world is changing.
On August 29th, 2024, after 25 years, and seven months of providing affordable, effective advertising, The Source Weekly will print their last edition… Volume 26, No. 31, then we will all be unemployed. In all of those 25 years, our classifieds continued to be $5 and we only raised the cost of our display ads three times. Yep. Three times in 25 years. Except for several hurricanes and freezing power outages, we did our best to always be here for you, even during COVID. Because of rising costs of insurance, property taxes, newsprint, printing, delivery, lack of power, and (OUR) lack of interest in competing with Facebook, we are closing our doors.
Community newspapers (yes, all of them) have been put into a most difficult position. Our want has always been to support small and large businesses, providing advertising to help sell products, support community events and functions, but still keep costs affordable for you. It’s just not possible for us anymore.
We even tried to run obituaries at the same cost as all our other advertising (did I mention it is very affordable), but Facebook kind of rules on that also. It’s hard to beat FREE, but sometimes that gets you exactly what you pay for. I’ve just never thought it was 100% respectful to honor someone’s life story or memorial with a Facebook post. But what do I know, I’m just an unemployed ex-newspaper publisher.
Over the next couple of weeks, I intend to share more (I have a LOT to say) about the past 25 years, but for now I would like to say thank-you for supporting us throughout the years – when it was good, it was fabulous and it was all because of you and your support. When we tried something new that you liked, like FREE garage sales, you applauded us. We will miss you. Now remember, you have two weeks to sell something. Come on, I know you have something that you need to get rid of. Have a great week. And remember, “Sometimes you are the cat, and sometimes you’re the hairball.” LISA
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Garfield creator Jim Davis is 79. TV producer Dick Ebersol is 77. Actor Sally Struthers is 77. Gloria Stivic in All in the Family. Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy is 99. Actor Martin Sheen is 84. Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 83. Actor Jay North of Dennis the Menace is 73. Olympic swimming gold medalist Ryan Lochte is 40. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 87. Actor Connie Stevens is 86. Country singer Phil Balsley of The Statler Brothers is 86. Actor Larry Wilcox is 77. California Highway Patrol officer Jonathan “Jon” Baker on CHiPs.
Actor Keith Carradine is 75. TV personality Deborah Norville is 66. Basketball Hall of Fame Bob Cousy is 86. Tennis Hall of Fame Rod Laver is 86. Actor Sam Elliott (be still, my heart) is 80. The cowboy with the voice and the mustache. Soul R&B singer Barbara Mason is 77. She released Yes, I’m Ready in 1965, which peaked at #2 on Billboard R&B and #5 on Billboard Hot 100. TV host Hoda Kotb is 60. Rock musician Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is 77. Country musician Gene Johnson of Diamond Rio is 75. Actor Rosanna Arquette is 65. Actor Antonio Banderas is 64. Rock musician Jon Farriss of INXS is 63.
Did you know? The proper name for a group of cats is a clowder, and a group of kittens is called a kindle.
During the Olympics, we all heard stories of the Seine (very polluted) River. Two swimmers from New Zealand had their team doctor waiting for them at the finish line…with two old-fashioned Coca-Cola’s. Some say that it’s the best way to fight off infection for open-water swimmers. Evidently, multiple doctors believe coke is a gastroenterological cure-all. In my mind, I remember reading about pouring a coke into your dirty toilet, then letting it set overnight, flushing in the morning and having a sparkling clean porcelain bowl – so if it works so well on your toilet, then it should do some really (?) good things for your gut… I guess. The only time I have ever drank Coke was in Mexico, but I added a little rum and lime to it… you couldn’t drink the water, but you could ask for a Cuba libre. Maybe there is more to this story than I once heard. Hmmm.
Beginning Sept. 9, you’ll see two new products, an Oreo-inspired Coca-Cola soda and an Oreo Coca-Cola Sandwich cookie… the perfect snacking duo using one another’s flavors. Just in case you find yourself swimming in the Seine.
One minute you’re young & fun. And the next, you turn down the stereo in the car to see better.
Looks like Tropical Storm Ernesto is cruising through the Atlantic towards Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Tom Cruise at the Olympics… if you didn’t see it, you should. I saw one comment that said, “This is the MOST Tom Cruise that Tom Cruise has ever Tom Cruised.’ Yes, you should read that twice, but it makes so much sense. Jami Doddroe is the new foster Transport Coordinator for the SPCA of Brazoria County. She needs people to sign up to be foster parents. Teller would appreciate it if you could help them. Several months ago, I told y’all about the Dancing Crab baby toy that is just fabulous. I was in Academy over the weekend and saw the Dancing Crab Bubble Machine for $14.99. I don’t’ know for a fact, but I bet it is a hoot… for kids and adults.
It’s officially too hot when the lure of jumping in a cold pool is finally stronger than the horror I feel when I see myself in a swimsuit.
I never throw out the little paper packs of the silica gel beads that you get in shoes, handbags and so many other things. The beads are highly absorbent, taking up to 40% of their weight in water. You can stick them in gym bags, smelly shoes, jewelry boxes, seed packets, even inside your carved Halloween pumpkins to keep them from growing crazy stuff inside. I just put one inside my saltshaker. It works inside your spice jars, too. DO NOT EAT. Make sure the ones you use on food, are food safe.
Before I adopted Teller, I would steal away from LJ and visit the outlet mall on 290. There wasn’t a time – except when the line of people was around the corner – that I didn’t stop and get an Auntie Anne’s hot pretzel with cheese. As you approach the store, the tantalizing scent grabs you, and pulls you in. I stole the following sentence so don’t be thinking I’m this clever. “Auntie Anne’s knows what you knead.” Auntie Anne’s is now bottling the famous aroma of their buttery mall pretzels, calling it Knead Eau de Pretzel, and they’re opening New York’s first Pretzel Parfumerie pop-up. You can also get the pretzel scented fragrance on their website. So, arrest me, but I may have to at least give it a sniff out at some point.
Smokey the Bear turned 80 years-old on August 9th. In 1944, Smokey Bear was created, and the first poster, developed by artist Albert Staehle, depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire. It’s the longest-running public-service campaign in our country’s history. The original catchphrase was, “Smokey says, care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires.” Then his message of “Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires” was changed in 2001, to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” to reflect that wildfires happen in natural areas other than just forests. Smokeybear.com. You will find resources for educators, fun activities, a reading challenge, history of wildland fires and Smokey’s history, along with a pledge. DID YOU KNOW that in 2022, 87% of wildfires were caused by humans.
What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
After the hurricane Beryl loss of power, I went to work picking up limbs and leaves, off and on for a couple of days but then started feeling pretty puny… for days and days. I tested myself three times for Covid because I thought I had all the symptoms… but I was always negative. Then on our first day back at the office, I stayed behind my closed office doors because I was sure that I had something contagious. Later in the day, Hailey asked if it could be heat exhaustion… yikes, all the symptoms matched… yes, I was probably just dehydrated. I started on Pedialyte Grape – actually quite tasty – and within thirty minutes I was feeling so much better. Within 24 hours, I was back on track. FYI.
Send comments to Lisa Baker at lisa@thesourceweekly.com
