Business Pulse explores sponsorship deal
|
For those who are wondering, Patriotic Pulse is much like Business Pulse. Well, it’s pretty much exactly like Business Pulse except I have an American flag in the background of my little logo to the right.
I’m proud to be an American, and I even contemplated singing ‘God Bless America’ in today’s column. Instead, I thought I’d bring you a couple America jokes. These are the jokes people from other countries make about us, which are similar to our Polish jokes and French jokes.
Joke 1: How many Americans does it take to go ice fishing?
Answer: Four. One to cut a hole in the ice and three to push the boat under water.
Joke 2: What’s the worst three years of an American’s life?
Answer: Fifth grade.
Joke 3: What’s the easiest job in America?
Answer: Intelligence officer in the U.S. military.
Joke 4: Daughter to father: ‘Daddy, I think I’m pregnant.’ Father: ‘Are you sure it’s yours.’
But that’s enough jokes at America’s expense. This is the greatest country in the world and anyone who doubts that only has to look at the number of people fighting to get in, versus the number of people trying to leave.
As for today’s hard-to-believe feat, how about the driving of the Southern Standard’s own Rob Nunley, who is now a proud mud racing champion. Rob took the Dodge pickup he drives around town every day and ran it last weekend at the mud races at Hoot and Holler Farm.
To the surprise of everyone involved, Rob captured first place and speculation is already swirling about a possible racing career.
Seeing a chance to earn a little extra money on the side, I am acting as Rob’s agent. I haven’t officially asked Rob about this, and I’m pretty sure he would adamantly oppose such an agreement, but I’m doing it anyway.
I’ve also taken the liberty of designing a new paint job for Rob’s truck using the skills of Standard graphic artist Seth Wright. The plan is to wait until Rob goes to sleep then add a Southern Standard/ Business Pulse paint job to his pickup. I’m pretty sure Rob would oppose this idea too.
Once all this is done, it’s my goal to market Rob to appeal to the masses. OK so that might be a lofty goal indeed. Maybe I should start by making Rob appeal to a handful of people outside his immediate family.
My grand vision is to have Rob and the Business Pulse Dodge available for your birthday party or get-together. Rob will even sign autographs for a nominal fee. Just be sure to make all checks payable to James Clark.
In today’s final tidbit, I’m pleased to report the fabled $54 million lawsuit for a lost pair of pants was officially dismissed on Monday. Thank goodness.
Washington D.C. resident Roy Pearson because a world-wide symbol of legal abuse when he sought $54 million for a pair of pants he claimed was lost by a local dry cleaner. Pearson arrived at that figure by calculating his inconvenience and mental anguish into the equation for the traumatic incident.
Over the course of the litigation, which began in 2005, the dry cleaners said they made three settlement offers to Pearson ‘ for $3,000, then $4,600, then $12,000 ‘ but all three offers were rejected. Folks, if you’re not going to accept $12,000 for a pair of pants, you’re an idiot.
The dry cleaners may have lost the pants, but Pearson has truly lost his mind. I think he should be tossed in jail for 48 hours so he can think about wasting valuable judicial system time over such an absurd lawsuit.
Would you like fries with that movie?
Having dinner and renting a movie just got easier, provided you eat that dinner at McDonald’s. In continuing the growing trend of one-stop shopping, our local McDonald’s on Smithville Highway now has a Redbox, a completely automated DVD rental system.
The Redbox is located outside the restaurant near the drive-thru menu. It’s been operational about two weeks.
The great thing about the Redbox is it offers about 70 new releases and the cost can’t be beat. It’s just $1 a day plus tax. For folks used to paying around $4 for a new release, this is a big savings.
The downside, as I see it, is you need a credit or debit card to rent a DVD from the Redbox. If you should forget to return the movie for a week, you’re looking at a total cost of $7.70 with Tennessee sales tax. And there’s no way to smooth talk your way out of the charge because it goes straight to your credit or debit card.
Overall I think this is a pretty neat service because I never dreamed McDonald’s would get into the movie rental business. And that’s not to suggest I dream about McDonald’s.
To add to this bit of new technology, you can order your movie in advance at www.redbox.com and pick it up immediately at the location of your choice. For added convenience, the DVD can be returned to any of 4,000 Redbox locations nationwide, although it would probably save you time and gas to just drop it off at the Smithville Highway location.
Biker store already open for business
In last week’s column, I speculated McMinnville would have a new biker store in the coming weeks. Little did I know that Jimmy Norrod would put it in high gear and have his Sparta Street store open Friday.
Jimmy is better known as Big Daddy, which makes the name of his new business appropriate, Big Daddy’s Big Dawg and Hogg.
Jimmy’s wife, Oma Jean, is the owner and Jimmy will run the store. It’s open every day except Monday.
If you’re looking for biker accessories (and by biker I mean motorcycle), then stop by Big Daddy’s store and see what you think. He has leather jackets, vests, belts, chaps, gloves, wallets and bags. He also has do-rags, sunglasses, jewelry and variety of other items.
‘I have a lot more stocking to do and it will take me awhile to get it built up the way I want it,’ said Big Daddy. ‘I’ve talked to a lot of bikers and heard them fuss about having to go to Cookeville or Monteagle just to get stuff. This town has needed a biker store for a long time.’
The popularity of motorcycles has soared in recent years, I suppose to fulfill the growing need to ride down the road on something extremely dangerous. Big Daddy told me there are currently around 5,000 motorcycles registered in Warren County, which means roughly 1-in-8 people own one.
After looking through Big Daddy’s inventory, I must admit I was surprised at his prices. They seem extremely low. Leather jackets that I expected would cost over $200 were priced at $130. He had some leather vests priced at $35.
‘I’m not trying to break a man’s back,’ said Jimmy. ‘I’m just trying to make a living.’
Big Daddy has pulled through some serious health issues, the worst of which was a heart transplant about six years ago. It’s been a long recovery, but he says he is just now beginning to feel good again.
‘I’m just now getting back to riding again,’ said Jimmy. ‘It’s taken that long for me to get back. Now that I’m feeling better, I have to get out of the house and do something. And McMinnville needs a store like this.’
Big Daddy’s Big Dawg and Hogg is located in the new strip shopping center on Sparta Street. The phone number is 607-4527.
Speaking of the new shopping center, owner Keith Bouldin told me last week that he’s had some fairly serious talks with other tenants about locating there. So I’ll stay on the lookout in the coming months and see if those talks materialize into a deal.
Antique Alley opens at old Powermatic building
For a building that was all but given up for dead, there’s some life in the old Powermatic building, now known as McMinnville Mega Market.
As expected, the weekend flea market has blossomed and there are close to 60 regular vendors selling their wares. There’s even a booth featuring old albums, which are almost impossible to find nowadays.
When I stopped by Friday, I was impressed by the level of activity. There were people darting all over the building getting their displays ready for the weekend. There is even a cafeteria that serves breakfast and lunch.
Building manager Wally Stern tells me things are looking good and he said there’s still room for substantial growth. He says the building could hold around 300 vendors, which would be one mean flea market.
But now I’m getting a bit off course because the reason I mention the Mega Market in the first place is to tell you about its new feature ‘ Antique Alley. The alley is perfect for folks who like to ‘go antiqueing’ because it’s like having over 20 antique dealers at one place. OK, so it is having over 20 antique dealers at one place.
Already 22 of the 24 booth spaces on Antique Alley have been filled. The grand opening is this weekend.
Faye Bennett, longtime owner of Antiques on Main, has moved her business from downtown to Antique Alley. She is hopeful it will be a positive move.
‘I love downtown and I’ll miss the downtown feel,’ said Faye. ‘But we’ve decided to come out here and see how it goes.’
Faye has always been a firm believer that antique stores need to stick together. She says people are inclined to drive from out of town if they can hit five or six antique stores within walking distance. Antique Alley accomplishes that goal.
Wally said Antique Alley will expand its weekend hours to be open every day of the week in about a month or so. When that happens, regular hours are expected to be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
New bondsman can get you out of jail ‘ just not for free
If you need the services of Len Murray, chances are you’re in jail. But sometimes it happens.
If it does, Len wants you to keep him and his company, Buddy Harrell Bail Bonding in mind. The phone number is easy enough to remember, 815-BOND, and Len can be called 24 hours a day because people get tossed in jail 24 hours a day.
Len has an interesting story because he retired from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department in May. Now he’s on the other end of the business.
‘I used to put people in jail and now I get them out,’ said Len.
Most of his career has been spent in some form of law enforcement capacity. In Arizona, he worked in fugitive recovery, which may sound death-defying but Len says it’s not.
‘Ninety-nine percent of the time local law enforcement works side by side with us because they want these people off the streets,’ said Len. ‘The days of bounty hunters going in and kicking down doors, that doesn’t happen much anymore. The majority of people you bond out are everyday working people who made a mistake. And if they don’t show up in court it’s because they usually forgot.’
Len says he is a member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Bailbonding Agents and takes periodic classes as a member of that association. He says operating with integrity is an utmost concern.
Final thought
Fourth of July festivities take place in downtown McMinnville this Wednesday morning. To join in the celebration, The Flower Basket will be open that day to sell its popular sweets, among other things.
On that day of celebrating our nation’s birthday, it’s also appropriate to note The Flower Basket is celebrating its 60th year. On July 4, the store will be offering discounts from 10 to 60 percent off.
That’s all folks
Just a warning, but I don’t know how much business news I’ll be able to gather during Fourth of July week. But I’m sure going to try. Give me a call at 473-2191 with business tips.