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20 MAY 04: MAKE 'EM PAY
"Can a guy get a ride?" asked the man who approached my car outside a Phenix City drugstore Wednesday afternoon. Of course he could - if he waited long enough, a PEX bus probably would come by.
The older man wore a Washington Redskins jacket on a muggy May day - and it was clear he wanted ME to give him that ride. But I faced mitigating circumstances on this afternoon. I needed to stop at a post office before it closed, I had two half-gallons of cold milk in the car - and besides, this man should have prepared for gas boycott day a little better.
Did you take part in what an e-mail campaign called "Stick It To 'Em Day?" Everyone was urged to avoid buying gasoline Wednesday. It's a good thing I filled up Tuesday night, before learning about this.... [True!]
The e-mail campaign claimed if everyone stopped buying gasoline for one day, the major oil companies would lose so much money that gas prices would have to come down. Well, hold on a second - has it ever worked that way on Christmas?
Some economists said a one-day boycott of gas pumps wouldn't work, because all the drivers would have to fill their tanks sooner or later. Besides, I didn't notice a big increase in bicycle riders around Columbus Wednesday....
I did my small part to promote fuel savings Wednesday. With two errands to run downtown, I parked my car in between the locations on Third Avenue and walked to both of them. It was nice exercise - but in a city like Columbus, I think the most likely companies to promote this approach are antiperspirant makers.
The walk around 13th Street was quite revealing. For one thing, there's a big tree with spanish moss on it along Third Avenue. For another thing, the painters of crossing lanes on Second Avenue missed the sidewalk by a good five yards....
I'm no chemical engineer, but I suspect you save more gas by parking your car and going into a business than sitting in a drive-through lane for a couple of minutes. Yet I haven't noticed any shortening of drive-through lines - proving again how many people prefer "American Idle."
(OK, since I brought up that show - I don't have a favorite in the Diana-Fantasia final next week at all. But the way the voting has gone this year, wouldn't William Hung have lasted a long time?)
Oh yes - what did I do about the man who wanted a ride in Phenix City? After thinking a second, I chose the option of negotiation. So from the beginning:
"Can a guy get a ride?"
"Where?"
"Over to Wal-Mart."
"I'm not going there."
Ugh, the beggar seemed to say to himself. I left him disappointed - but he could always take a short walk to the corner of U.S. 80 and U.S. 280. Long lines of drivers would be waiting at that traffic light all afternoon.
E-MAIL UPDATE: Ooh boy, what have I done now?....
Candace Cook's hair is naturally curly. What you saw Monday night was her hair actually looks like. She usually straightens it each morning before work, which is a lengthy process, but did not have time to do that Monday. (Do people even get permanent waves anymore?) Actually, we all love her curly hair in the newsroom.
There are times when I chuckle at your online musings (even at my expense) but I did not appreciate your comment about Candace. She is a great reporter and more importantly a world class lady. I hope you will publish this reply on your website.
Blaine Stewart
WRBL-TV
Thank you Mr. Stewart, for setting the record - uh, well, uh.... never mind.....
After reviewing what I wrote the last two days, I'm not sure what I said to condemn the classiness of Candace Cook. It was that other e-mail writer who mentioned the "black see through number" at the Relay for Life -- and I don't know which person that writer was describing. For all I know, it might have been a return visit by Heath Morton.
I guess this will teach me to express my opinion about hairstyles on the Internet. Some people can have a hair-trigger temper about such things. So to settle this firestorm....
THE BIG BLOG QUESTION now becomes who has the best hair on TV in Columbus. You decide, by clicking here to vote! I apologize first for stealing another web site's idea -- and second to Al Fleming, because you are not eligible.
Now some short subjects from the middle of the week:
+ Two-year-old heart transplant patient Lexi McCullough returned home to Harris County, after surgery in Atlanta. She's recovered so quickly from last month's operation that she went running in the front yard - and she'll look cool on a Harley motorcycle, at the next poker run.
+ The Columbus Red Cross office began a promotion offering pints of Blue Bell ice cream if you donate blood. Well, that's an even swap of pint-for-pint - but would that make me a "Blue blood?"
+ An Alabama state report revealed tourism in Bullock County has jumped 55 percent in the last two years. There can only be one explanation for this. When people in the South find a whiskey distillery, they simply can't stay away.
+ Columbus High School's baseball team swept Chapel Hill, to advance in the state tournament. This team plays so well that I suggest once the state playoffs are over, it should head to Atlanta - and replace the major leaguers playing there now.
+ The Columbus Catfish game against Greensboro was -- huh?! What did I hear?! Rained out? I live in the neighborhood, and Golden Park had no rain at all after 3:15 p.m. OK, who forgot to put the tarp down Monday?
COMING FRIDAY: That "Spam-a-rama" item we've promised involving failure....
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