Marvin’s sketch beats all my gizmos
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For years, I’ve used the power of computers to impose my face on hats, coffee mugs and even on the tiny body of my newborn son.
But I should say I haven’t engaged in all this foolishness because I want to see my face everywhere. Well, come to think of it, that is the reason I do all this, but that’s not the point.
The point is Marvin beat me to the punch because in reality, I don’t have my face anywhere but on the front of my head. And now Marvin has got a monster-sized sketch that has his face as big as the library. There was even a little ceremony before the presentation – the type of thing I dream about.
So congratulations Marvin. You’ve beaten me in actually getting your face on something. Or I should say you’ve won Round 1.
But there’s only so long I can talk about Marvin, seeing as today is Mother’s Day and he’s not my mom. I need to take a moment to wish my own mom Happy Mother’s Day. May you spend much quality time on the sofa, mom.
The Mother’s Day we’ve come to celebrate is nothing like the day envisioned by its creator, Anna Jarvis. In the early 1900s, she began to lobby prominent politicians, including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt, to officially honor women with their own special day.
In 1914, Anna’s hard work paid off when Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother’s Day as a national holiday. At first, people observed Mother’s Day by attending church and writing letters to their mothers.
Eventually, like everything else, Mother’s Day became commercialized and folks began sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed the day’s sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit.
In 1923, she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother’s Day festival. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis said she regretted ever starting the Mother’s Day tradition. In a counter statement, Hallmark has said it is very pleased she started Mother’s Day.
I’m still waiting for corporate sponsorship to arrive. It won’t be long before we have the Nextel Cellular Mother’s Day, or Mother’s Day sponsored by Betty Crocker.
What happened to the yellow house?
The house on the corner of Chancery and Locust streets, which had been bright yellow with red trim, is now a white house. Apparently, the color yellow infuriates people in Warren County.
The yellow house created so much controversy, the vice president of the auto pawn store preparing to move in there called me this week.
“We made a bad mistake,” said vice president James Farlow. “That building should have been painted white. We’re in the process of remedying the situation as soon as the painter can accommodate it.”
Farlow said his auto pawn company uses two different color schemes depending on location. He said he didn’t intend to make anyone mad.
To inject a personal comment, I think the whole situation is ridiculous, especially the local reaction. I could care less if the house was yellow, but I must be in the minority on that opinion. Rick Solomon, who is doing the painting, said he has never seen such a stir.
“People would pull over and cuss us for painting the house yellow,” said Solomon. “I just want people to know I didn’t have anything to do with the color choice.”
Solomon stressed he was simply painting the house the color he was instructed to paint it. I hope folks don’t object to white.
Pet caskets now made locally
Hoyt Northcutt has stumbled on a rather interesting idea. For folks wondering how to tastefully dispose of their dead pets, Hoyt has the answer – a pet casket.
He makes the attractive lace-lined caskets at his home in Centertown. They come complete with an embroidered pillow that includes the words Angel Sleeping, which is the name of Hoyt’s business.
“People are really fascinated with this idea,” said Hoyt, who comes from four generations of carpenters. “I try to build the best caskets I can for the money.”
As for prices, they range from $99 for the smallest casket to $249 for a casket capable of holding a 150-pound dog. At those prices, if I dropped about 20 pounds, I could squeeze in one of those pet caskets.
The pet casket business may sound amusing at first, but when you think about it, Hoyt does provide a worthwhile service. There are folks who care deeply about their pets and when those animals die, it can be as traumatic as the death of a friend or family member. There are even counselors and websites available to help people deal with pet grief.
Hoyt said that’s how he stumbled upon the idea.
“When my sister’s cat died, she had him for 14 years and was completely lost,” said Hoyt. “She kept him on ice for several days trying to figure out what to do and that’s when I made her a makeshift casket – nothing like what we’re making today. It makes you feel better about the fact you’ve just lost a companion.”
Hoyt and his wife, Wanda, do all the work by hand. If you’re interested in making arrangements for a pet casket, you can call them at 939-4398 or visit their website at www.angelsleeping.com.
Chinese restaurant has more stuff
The scope of this Business Pulse report was supposed to be that Peking Chinese Restaurant has expanded and now has 90 items to choose from on the buffet bar. By now, most of us know all about Peking and the great-tasting food served there.
What we don’t know about is owner Kevin Pan, a guy who seemingly never leaves the restaurant. If you stop by for an early lunch, Kevin is there. He’s there for dinner. He works on Sunday. So just how many hours does this man work a week?
“Over 100 hours,” said Kevin. “I work seven days a week, usually 15 hours a day.”
Now that’s what I call a workaholic. The bigger question is how does Kevin’s wife tolerates those hours?
“We’ve got another restaurant in Smithville,” said Kevin. “She works seven days a week, 15 hours a day there.”
Since Kevin and his family came to Tennessee six years ago, they’ve opened eight restaurants. In addition to McMinnville and Smithville, they also have restaurants in Crossville, Shelbyville, Lewisburg and Jamestown, to name a few.
Kevin is originally from a tiny town in China, a town he says is well smaller than McMinnville. He came to New York City some 16 years ago where he lived in the Manhattan area.
From there, he moved to Tennessee because he had an uncle living in Fairview. Since he was looking for something to do in Fairview, you can probably guess what Kevin did – he opened a Chinese restaurant.
If you want to check out Peking’s new-and-improved buffet, today is the perfect time. Kevin says he will give away a free corsage to every mother who eats there today. He’s bought 500 of them and hopes he doesn’t run out.
Errands service now open for your convenience
If you don’t have time to pick up dinner or run to the post office, Michelle Sepelak has the answer. She has come up with the idea of starting an errand service called Helping Hands.
“If you just need someone to run by the drug store or the dry cleaners, I can do that,” said Michelle, who charges $10 an hour for general errands. “I figured with my 20 years of customer service, this would be a great thing for me to do.”
Michelle thinks her pet feeding service will be one of her main attractions. She can feed your animals while you are out of town for a few days or a few weeks.
“I’ll take care of just about anything,” said Michelle, who has a dog, two cats and a horse. “Dogs, cats, ferrets, snakes. Me and animals get along great.”
Michelle is also available to do grocery shopping and gift wrapping. She’ll write thank you notes or pay your utility bills if needed. She can be reached at 265-9262.
Hair stylist finds a new home
Elaine’s Hair Design has a new hair stylist. Michelle Hill has come on board to join Elaine at her shop on Bratten Street. And from the looks of things, Michelle fits right in.
“I really like it here,” she said. “I’ve got the best boss.”
Michelle had previously worked at Total Image. She can do just about any kind of beauty work you want from cuts and perms to colors, highlights, manicures and leg waxing. Michelle even said she could wax my chest if I wanted to become a professional body builder. That sounds painful.
If you have been a former customer, you can now find Michelle working at Elaine’s shop. If you want to give her a try, the number is 473-9647.
That’s all folks
If you’ve got business news, or want to paint a giant picture of me in front of the newspaper, I’ve got the time. Give me a call at 473-2191 or send me an e-mail at [email protected].