In America we?re intelligent, good looking and honest too
If today?s Business Pulse isn?t quite up to its usual standards (and I?m not sure what those standards are), can I blame it on postpartum depression?
OK, so that probably wouldn?t work for me, but it?s sure becoming a convenient excuse for the female criminals of the world. Drown your children and blame it on postpartum depression. Shoot your husband in the back and say the reason is postpartum depression.
If that legal defense should ever one day work in a court of law, the men and children of the world better watch out.
Woman: ?Your honor, I couldn?t help myself. The postpartum depression made me do it.?
Judge: ?Ma?am, it says here your last child was born 27 years ago.?
Since Business Pulse is a happy place, I don?t need to talk about depressing issues. I need to talk about ridiculous lawsuits. This week that lawsuit comes to us from Bristol, England where a high school teacher is suing the school system because of a squeaky chair.
As hard as this may be to believe, Sue Storer, 48, is claiming her noisy desk chair made her life miserable and forced her to resign. ?I had a nervous breakdown because of the ordeal,? Storer said in court documents.
Storer goes on to claim sexual discrimination in that some male teachers were given new chairs while she was forced to keep her squeaky chair despite frequent complaints. Storer claims the chair was a source of embarrassment and that students often made fun of her because of it.
I never realized a desk chair could cause so much pain and suffering. It sounds to me like someone could have handed this lady a can of WD-40 long before the chair created such emotional anguish.
As for other odds and ends, one thing I can say about Americans is we have a pretty high opinion of ourselves. At least that?s what the results of a Washington Post survey revealed last month.
According to the newspaper, 94 percent of Americans listed themselves as ?above average? in honesty, and 89 percent said they were ?above average? in common sense.
But wait there?s more. The survey also revealed 86 percent are ?above average? in intelligence and 79 percent are ?above average? in looks.
I can?t help but wonder if any members of the Warren County Commission were polled for the survey.
Personally, I find the survey kind of ironic. On one hand you have 94 percent of the people saying they?re very honest. Then those honest people are saying they?re also very smart and attractive. Sounds hard to believe.
Best I can figure, they must have taken a poll of Business Pulse readers. Based on my unofficial survey, people who read this column are highly intelligent and good looking too. And I can say that because my darling Cupcake is my No. 1 reader. Combined with my mom, sometimes they are my only readers.
Jackson Kayak takes plunge in White County
It was around a year ago Jackson Kayak began to seriously explore its expansion options. The company was started by former Olympian and two-time world champion kayaker Eric Jackson in Rock Island in January, 2004.
With Jackson?s name, it didn?t take long for the tiny business to flourish. Anybody who knows much about kayaks also knows Jackson is the best there is, so his kayaks are a hot commodity.
It became obvious the 735-square-foot facility in Rock Island was only a temporary building. So Jackson Kayak began looking for a new place to call home.
When I first talked to Jackson about a year ago, it seemed very likely he would move into the old Levi Strauss building in Campaign. I thought that was promising news.
When a contacted the company a few months later, Jackson was competing in Australia and a company representative told me the move to the old Levi building was no longer such a sure thing.
Then I pick up a copy of this month?s Upper Cumberland Business Journal and on page 3 is a story about how Jackson Kayak has decided to locate in White County. Ouch!
Is there a doctor in the house? Somebody stop the bleeding! Warren County has fallen and it can?t get up.
I?m sorry, please excuse that outburst. Occasionally I get frustrated by this county?s inability to land jobs.
Jackson Kayak currently has about 20 employees and that number is likely to increase now that the company has a new 96,000-square-foot home.
?If we started doing roto-molding, that would at least double the number of employees for this facility,? Jackson told the Upper Cumberland Business Journal. ?As our product line continues to increase, we will be bringing in more people.?
Jackson Kayak officials didn?t return two phone calls I made last week to learn the reasons why White County beat out Warren County. Call me nosy, but I?m curious.
German restaurant coming to Morrison
Ingrid Grissom was born and raised in Germany. So was her mother-in-law, Anita Grissom.
That?s why it makes perfect sense for the two to open a new German restaurant in Morrison in the building best known as the old Medley?s restaurant. It?s located on Highway 55 at the intersection that also has Phillips 66 and Hulett?s Automotive.
Ingrid has worked in a half dozen different restaurants and currently cooks at Main Street Bakery. Her new restaurant will feature German food, cakes and pastries.
Ingrid has been trying out a few of her recipes at Main Street Bakery and says so far the results have been positive.
?I haven?t had a person yet tell me it?s not good,? said Ingrid, who stressed her restaurant will be family oriented. ?I?m not going to have beer. People associate German food with beer but I?m not going to serve it.?
The planned opening day is about a month away. Ingrid says she?s ready to go but she?s being delayed because the building doesn?t currently have electricity. She says huge billboards are being erected near her restaurant and the power has been disconnected because of the construction work.
When she does get up and running, the menu will consist of traditional German fare such as schnitzel, bratwurst and rotisserie style chicken. She says her restaurant will be different than one located about 10 miles down the road in Manchester.
?That restaurant is not my style,? said Ingrid explaining she is from southern Germany. Ingrid says Germany is much like the U.S. where cooking in the South is different than cooking in other regions.
Asked how she thinks she?ll do in rural Morrison, Ingrid said there are enough meat and three places around and she hopes people will give her restaurant a try. Ultimately, she had hoped to locate in downtown McMinnville but she said rent was too expensive.
?The places I inquired about were outrageous in rent so I couldn?t go for that,? said Ingrid. ?I would have loved to be downtown but with rent that high I don?t see how anybody could make it.?
The answer to that problem is simple. Store owners will be able to afford higher rent downtown because the street is nicer.
Hip-hip hooray! It?s Farmers Market time
For all the folks longing for the home-grown items available at the Farmers Market, your wait is over. The market will open for the first time this year this Saturday.
?There will be a lot of plants and flowers and some spring vegetables and canned and baked goods available,? said Farmers Market president Brent Bain.
The market has experienced steady growth since its pavilion was built next to the downtown water tower. Now that the Farmers Market is looking nice, talk has shifted to making the water tower look better. I?m completely behind this idea and think the city should pay $5.2 million to upgrade the water tower.
The Farmers Market will be open on Saturday mornings for all of April. In May, Wednesday mornings will be added to the schedule. In June, the market will also open on Friday evenings.
Wanamaker moves to Lynn?s Hair Fantasies
Hair stylist Stephanie Wanamaker has made the short move across Northgate Shopping Center from Snips to Lynn?s Hair Fantasies. She?s been at her new location about three weeks and wants her customers to know where to find her.
Stephanie downplayed the fact there was a big controversy that forced her to leave Snips. And yes I am always trying to stir up a big controversy.
?It was just time for a change,? said Stephanie, who has been cutting hair for eight years. Her new phone number at Lynn?s Hair Fantasies is 473-3131.
That?s all folks
I?m anxious for some positive business news so give me a call at 473-2191 or send me an e-mail at [email protected].