Odds & Ends
by Steve West on May 23, 2011

Yesterday, Lauren and I went to Toby's Dinner Theatre for her birthday and saw Happy Days, the musical. I was never a big fan of the series but had seen enough of it to get the inside jokes and references to the old sitcom. A few of the groaners included not seeing Chuck for a few years now, the Fonz not being the same since he jumped the shark and Richie commenting on his usual ability to solve problems in just one-half hour. Lauren was enchanted. She was watching for our server, Elena, in the ensemble numbers (she was actually pretty good singing and dancing with enthusiasm). Lauren had her birthday announced before the show and got souvenir etched glasses with the name of the show.
Today was a mixed bag. The good news - I believe we've got a buyer for our house that was willing to pay our asking price. We've also got a prospect on a new house although it's a probable short sale, meaning the asking price is below the existing mortgage which requires the mortgage company's approval of the sale price. The not so good news - shopping day at the Safeway. I was thrilled to see no register manned by UOAS. The only cashier was a very pretty young woman who was not so prettily chewing gum with her mouth open. I had one interaction with her before purchasing my groceries that went like this:
Me: Can you tell me where the ant spray is?
Pretty But Brainless (PBB): I think it's right over there (pointing vaguely and then exasperatedly leading me there.)
PBB (yelling at the bag boy): Hey Charles! Is this stuff good for ants?
Me: No, I'm pretty sure it kills them (can clearly labeled "Ant Spray" with a dead ant lying on its back with its feet sticking up in the air lying next to a cartoon tombstone).
We'll see if this young lady becomes my new tormentor.
Two Replies to Odds & Ends
Jackie Mason | June 11, 2011
[hidden by author request]
Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »

Absurd One-Shots
Small collection of photos that caught my eye while surfing and gave me at least a brief chuckle. Funeral services ad in an interesting location; Signmaker with a sense of humor; British bus ad with an unfortunate exhaust pipe placement; and finally from the "How Could They Not Notice" department, a Parents Magazine cover with an even more unfortunate layout. Go »
Half-time
At about the halfway mark between Halloween and Christmas, I ran across this gift idea suitable for both holidays. Zombie lawn sculpture. Dave Barry included this in his annual gift guide and I found the original source for it. Go »
Yes, It's Hot Enough For Me
Recent conversation with Brenda: Brenda: The weather's been getting a lot warmer lately. me: I believe I noticed. Brenda: I'm worried that our air conditioner is too old and won't be good enough this summer. Go »
Stay-cation Week V
My God, bowling has gotten expensive. Sorry to speak of the costs of things so much but hey, this is a getting a little ridiculous. One game cost me $17.00. Go »
Who Needs a Karate Ghi?
Have you ever been in a position where you've had to choose between designer jeans or practicing jujutsu? Now your problems have been solved! You can have both. Go »
Scott Hardie | June 1, 2011
Good luck with the house. It's been an ordeal.
Happy Days is still a thing? Eating at Cheeburger Cheeburger last week, I wondered how much longer 1950s nostalgia would last, as generational shifts slowly take their toll on our collective memory. But then, it's been almost seventy years since the Holocaust, and joking about it is still career poison no matter how much of a reputation you have for outrageous statements, so apparently the strong connotations carried by these topics aren't going to start fading from our shared memory any time soon.