What I Heard This Week 02-22-2024
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
