Tears of joy and a giant treadmill
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It?s like these schools that hold awards days then give every single student an award. Folks, that?s not an award. It?s a certificate for breathing. Too many awards, and too many graduation ceremonies, dilute the significance.
But before this turns into a silly rant, let me admit I did get somewhat emotional when my little Benjamin graduated Friday night from Central Church of Christ?s pre-school. It was the Friday night graduation that wasn?t postponed due to imaginary rain.
As I stood there watching Benjamin and sobbing openly, I heard the phrase ?tears of happiness? tossed around. Since I work at the newspaper, people think I know just about everything (which is a belief I don?t try to refute).
The question was asked about why we cry when we?re happy, which is actually a thoughtful question. If we?re happy, why don?t we laugh or smile? Why do we cry?
For the answer, I have to call on my extensive background in psychology. Loosely translated, that means I occasionally watch Dr. Phil.
In the case of crying at a graduation ceremony, my so-called tears of joy are actually more of remorse. They are for thoughts of a beloved child growing up faster than I want him to. Before long he?ll have his own friends and he won?t want daddy around anymore. There won?t be nights of tucking him in and reading in bed, or days of playing tag in the yard. That?s what I?m really crying about.
It?s also common for people to cry not before or during a delicate surgery, but after it?s successfully complete. Those ?tears of joy? are actually tears of anxiety being released all at once. While people feel they need to ?be strong? before and during a tough situation, it?s OK to let it all out afterwards and say stuff like, ?I thought you were going to die.? Those are actually tears of grief thinking about death, not tears of joy.
As for crying at the end of a happy movie, that?s a different emotion. If memory serves me correctly, psychologists would say happy endings conjure up images of an ideal world of kindness and love that we once, as children, believed was possible to attain. As adults, we realize such a world doesn?t exist, although children don?t know this yet and that?s why they don?t cry at happy endings.
But that?s just about all the psychological analysis I can take for one day. As for odd, strange and curious news, I want to bring you an update about Maggie the fat elephant. If you recall, it was over a year ago when I told you the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage spent around $100,000 for an elephant-sized treadmill so Maggie could exercise.
Well here?s a news flash. Maggie doesn?t like to exercise on the treadmill, making it just like every other piece of exercise equipment bought in America. If we wait a few more years, we?ll see that elephant-sized treadmill in a yardsale, or a classified ad. ?Hardly used giant treadmill, $1,500 OBO.?
New bed and breakfast inn coming to McMinnville
If you?re yearning for a new bed and breakfast inn, you have come to the right place. Brett and Rebecca Merritt are in the process of opening Bonnie Blue Inn Bed and Breakfast at the foot of the big hill on Old Smithville Highway.
The inn rests in a cozy location, nestled between trees and hills and next to a creek. It?s what you would call a picturesque spot.
?We were crazy when we started this and I don?t know if we?ve gotten any better,? joked Brett. ?Hopefully in the next two to three months we?ll have it fixed up and ready for people to stay overnight. Right now we?re not ready for paying customers.?
Brett said Rebecca has catered a couple events at the inn, but that?s a little different than having full-time guests. He says the downstairs is pretty much complete but the upstairs needs a few finishing touches.
Like most bed and breakfast inns, the house is rich with history. The home was formerly the property of Orville Foutch who is probably best known around these parts as a talented fiddle player with poor eyesight.
I?ve heard stories about how Orville would play his fiddle and play that fiddle hard at virtually every significant in-town happening.
Because some shady local residents were known to try to take advantage of a mostly blind man living in the woods, legend has it that Orville had a shoot-first, ask-questions-later policy when it came to visitors on his property. I don?t blame him. That?s a policy I try to follow with my own property.
I look forward to taking a tour of Bonnie Blue Inn when the inside is complete. Brett said he?d give me a call when the inn is 100 percent up and running.
Dr. Chastain shaves his head
I can write about local businesses shutting down and laying off workers just about any day of the week. Stories about industry considering Warren County, then deciding to locate elsewhere, are also widespread.
That?s why I decided to shift gears this week and bring you a fascinating human interest business story. It?s about Dr. Bryan Chastain and one of his lab technicians, Pam Shelton.
I?m sorry to report Pam was recently diagnosed with cancer and she started chemotherapy treatments April 6. As most of us know, chemotherapy also results in the loss of hair, which Pam has experienced. While I?m sure hair loss is difficult for anyone to endure, I?d say it?s especially trying for a woman who is used to looking her best.
That?s why a gesture made by Dr. Chastain last Thursday has been so touching. To show his support, Dr. Chastain completely shaved his own head.
?I?m just trying to encourage her,? said Dr. Chastain. ?It?s a little thing I could do to let her know she has my support.?
The gesture has not gone unnoticed by anyone.
?Everybody thinks he has lost a bet,? said daughter Rachel Chastain. ?He told me today he thought he was going to need a blood transfusion for all the blood he lost while he was shaving his head.?
Dr. Chastain didn?t tell anyone about his head-shaving plans, according to office manager Patsy Black. He just showed up for work hairless. Pam said it?s just one of many things her co-workers have done to stand behind her during this emotional time.
?They chip in and cook me supper and I couldn?t imagine a better group of people to be around,? said Pam. ?When he decided to shave his head, it just floored me.?
A-Plus Fasteners celebrates 10th anniversary
If you want to hear a great American success story, let me tell you about A-Plus Fasteners which had a 10-year birthday bash Friday afternoon. Folks from all over the county came to enjoy a little lunch and check out the facility that?s flourished into a business that boasts $1 million in annual sales.
?I was manager at another business here in town that closed and I saw a need for a business like this,? said James Roller who is the most active owner.
A-Plus Fasteners sells primarily to industrial contractors, machine tool and metal fab shops, and telecommunication providers. Individual home owners aren?t primary customers but James says they are more than welcome.
?We don?t turn anybody away, even if the guy is looking for just one bolt,? said James. ?That guy who buys one bolt may send his neighbor over here and he might buy a lot from us. A content customer is a good source of advertising.?
A-Plus Fasteners started small by selling to customers mainly in Warren and White counties but has expanded over the years to include customers in a 150- to 175-mile radius. James makes regular visits to all of his customers and says he tries to offer a unique product line.
?I?m not competing with Pioneer, Supreme or Lowe?s,? said James. ?Things they are selling, I don?t.?
James said his workforce has stayed pretty steady with seven employees in recent years. A-Plus Fasteners is conveniently located at 203 Durham Street just past the railroad tracks. The phone number is 473-0010.
Post office offers Internet demonstration
Have you ever wanted to buy and print stamps from your home computer? Would you like to cut out the post office completely and handle all your mailing needs right from your home?
Then a Thursday morning Internet demonstration at McMinnville Post Office might be right up your alley. The demonstration will take place from 9 a.m. to noon May 25.
Why does the post office want its customers to use the Internet? It?s simple. So postal employees don?t have to look across the counter at your face.
OK, so that was mean and completely unprofessional. Actually, statistics show that 800,000 people visit the U.S. Postal Service?s Web site, www.usps.com, every day. That translated into 274 million people in 2005.
?The postal service feels this is a crystal clear indication that more of you are skipping the trip to the post office and going online,? said McMinnville postmaster Charles Bogle. ?Almost anything you can do at McMinnville Post Office, you can do online.?
Among the things you can do online are: creating shipping labels and paying for postage, finding a ZIP code, calculating postage, requesting carrier pick-up service, tracking and confirming mail delivery, holding mail and changing your address, just to name a few. So don?t miss the online demonstration this Thursday.
Paris Plumbing become
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
Regon Paris, owner of Paris Plumbing, is pleased to announce his company has become part of a nationally franchised plumbing brand and will now be known as Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.
If you?re tired of waiting around all day for a plumber, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is the place to call. The company promises on-time service to a customer?s home. If they are late for their appointment, they will pay you $5 per minute for every minute he?s late.
?Even though we?ve changed our name, I want all our customers to know we are still the same company they?ve trusted and relied on for more than 35 years,? said Regon, who runs the business with his wife, Teresa. ?We?ve just gotten even better.?
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is a fairly new company which got its start in 2003. However, the company offers such tremendous buying power, technical support and training that it has already established 118 franchises.
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing points to surveys that indicate homeowners are fed up with having to wait all day for a plumber who may or may not show up. That?s why the company?s mission is to fix the problem right the first time and do it with convenience, competence, courteousness, cleanliness and character.
But here?s the best part. It involves the hit song of the ?80s called ?867-5309 Jenny.? If you want to call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing from anywhere in the country, the toll-free number is (866) 867-5309. The local number is 474-7737.
That?s all folks
Call me at 473-2191 with your business news.