Tidbits of the Tri-Cities Issue #22

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Issue 22

of the Tri-Cities

TIDBITS HOPES YOU HAVE

A ROSY NEW YEARby Lynne Patrice

The hubbub around the Rose Bowl on January fi rst reminds us of how much we miss fl owers in the winter. Hopefully, our many rose puns won’t be too much of a thorn in your side…

• Millions of TV viewers around the world offi cially kick off the New Year by watching the Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, California. The colorful fl oral pageant has been held on January 1st every year since 1890 – except when that date happens to fall on a Sunday, in which case the event is moved up to the 2nd. The “never on Sunday” rule dates back to the time when worshipers utilized horses to get them to church. Offi cials feared that the noise and excitement of the parade would frighten the many horses tethered outside the city’s houses of worship.

• Even though the Tournament of Roses is a huge corporate organization, it’s no different than your high school homecoming parade in some ways. During the last 48 to 72 hours of preparation, organizers are still scrambling to fi nish the various fl oats. Most groups welcome volunteers willing to lend a hand. Show up at a “fl oat barn” during that time and you’ll likely be handed a box of fl owers and given some quick instructions.

Jan. 1- Jan. 7, 2009

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A ROSY NEW YEAR (continued):• Most weekend gardeners and casual fl ower

fans refer to those sharp spiny things on the stems of rose bushes as “thorns.” Botanists call them “prickles,” however, and there is a distinct difference between the two. A thorn is similar to a leaf in function, and it contains a “vascular bundle” of tissue that helps to sustain the plant. A prickle, on the other hand, is a hard, pointy appendage that does not supply any nutrients to the plant. It is in place strictly to protect the plant from predators, and can be (carefully!) snapped off without traumatizing the plant.

• Have you seen bottles of “rose hips” on the vitamin shelf at your local drugstore and wondered what they were? Rose hips are seed pods that form on rose bushes at the end of the growing season. Average backyard gardeners never see these “seed balls” on their plants, since they prune the fading rose blossoms away in order to encourage new growth. Rose hips are high in Vitamin C and essential fatty acids.

• It takes up to fi ve years and as much as $10,000 to create a new hybrid rose. It’s not unusual for the growers of such specialty fl owers to name their plants after celebrities in order to help spur sales. Your local garden center may offer a Dolly Parton rose bush, or a Princess Diana rose, or even a Barbra Streisand rose. In each case, the grower must secure permission from either the celebrity or his/her estate to attach his name to the bloom. And some celebrities (Streisand was one) insist on being involved in the fl ower selection process before agreeing to a fl oral namesake.

Baseball’s Joe DiMaggio was married to Marilyn Monroe for only nine months, but for

20 years after her death, he sent a bouquet of white roses to her grave twice each week.

DEAR PAWʼS CORNER: My dog, “Sandy,” gets very excited when people pass us while weʼre out walking. She is not mean, but she likes to bark and tries to paw at or jump up as people get close. Sandy gets particularly excited when a jogger passes us. How can I stop her from doing this? -- Bill in Boulder, Colo.

DEAR BILL: Getting Sandy adjusted to all the exciting activity on the sidewalk will take some time. Start by honing her basic obedience skills at home, making sure she will respond to your commands. On your daily walks, have her sit and stay at random times. When a jogger approaches, move to the side of the walk, and have Sandy sit and stay. (Of course, keep her on a leash at all times during walks.)

Send your tips, questions and comments to Paws Corner, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or e-mail them to [email protected].

Next, teach her not to react to sudden movements. At home, put Sandy on a leash. Throw a tennis ball across the room or hallway and say “Off!” or “Nyaah!” When Sandy leaps to chase the ball, tug the leash fi rmly and repeat “Off/Nyaah!” When Sandy responds to your command, praise her.Repeat this exercise in other locations, indoors or out, with few distractions. Try it with other objects, or a willing friend who can play the “jogger.”Finally, add the command during her daily walks -- when a person approaches, use the command if she starts toward them. You may need to sit Sandy down at fi rst and wait for the person to pass, giving the “Off/Nyaah!” command if needed. But gradually begin training her to obey this command from the heel.

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Drop scones are a boon for busy holiday bakers, since they’re a snap to make and almost foolproof. These bake up light and fl uffy. A touch of maple syrup and pieces of fi g make them just sweet enough—deal for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

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Ingredients Preparation:

CotcampCutsTrees

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1 pk Active dry yeast1/2 ts Ground cinnamon3/4 c Milk lukewarm1/4 ts Ground masticha3 Eggs beaten1/2 c Butter melted1 1/2 ts Grated orange rind1 Egg

For glazing3/4 c Caster sugarBlanched split almonds4 1/2 c Plain fl our

New Year Bread is traditionally cut at midnight on New Year s̓ Eve. After baking a coin is inserted through a slit in the base. The person who fi nds the coin will have luck in the New Year. Long ago the coin used to be a gold one then later a silver coin was used. These could be incorporated into the dough before baking. Nowadays because of the nickel content of coins it is undesirable to bake a coin in the cake. Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of the milk. Add remainder of milk eggs orange rind and sugar. Sift 3 cups fl our salt and spice into a warm bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in yeast mixture and stir to blend in fl our gradually adding warm melted butter. Mix dough with hands until it comes away from sides. Turn on to a fl oured surface and knead until smooth and elastic adding remaining fl our as required. Knead for 10 minutes. Place ball of dough in a clean bowl brushed with melted but-ter. Turn dough over to coat top with butter and cover bowl with a cloth or plastic wrap. Leav to prove (rise) in a warm place until doubled in bulk. Punch down and turn on to lightly fl oured surface. Knead lightly and shape into a round loaf. Place on a large greased baking sheet or in a greased 25 cm (10 inch) deep cake tin. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled - about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Glaze with well-beaten egg and arrange blanched almonds in numbers to denote the New Year pressing in lightly. Bake in a moderately hot oven for 45 minutes until golden brown and cooked when tested. If bread browns too quickly place a piece of greased brown paper on top. Cool on a wire rack.

MENTZER, INC.“Specializing in Commercial and

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Mentzer, Inc. is a Class A general contrac-tor licensed in the State of Virginia for eight years and has a combined workforce that totals over 100 years of construction management experience. Mentzer, Inc. is a customer-centered company that will provide meticulous attention to your con-struction needs, and has the professional knowledge to “get the job done right the fi rst time.” Mentzer, Inc. has numerous and diverse projects to their credit such as the follow-ing:

• Herrera Medical Building• Enterprise Car Rental Building• Gerdau Ameristeel• McIlwaine Historic Home• Sycamore Rouge • Busch Gardens Williamsburg• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation• Hollywood Film & Video Set Construction• Ettrick-Matoaca Rescue Building• Chester Sports Park• Numerous residential room additions and garages Mentzer, Inc. takes pride in communicat-ing well with our customers about even the smallest details to ensure that they are happy with the fi nished product. Company president and owner, Thomas “Chan” Men-tzer, is community born and raised and has managed building projects his entire life. Chan learned the building trades from his grandfather at an early age and continues

to instill the importance of a quality product. Mentzer, Inc. has three project managers:

• Tony Pitcock has been involved in construction management most of his life and was most recently responsible for work at Gerdau Ameristeel.

• Chris Jenkins has worked in construction manage-ment for many years and was most recently re-sponsible for the Herrera Medical Building.

• Frankie Addington has also done construction management many years and is currently respon-sible for the work at the Ettrick-Matoaca Rescue Squad Building.

Mentzer, Inc. is a family business. Chan’s wife, Noel, paints murals for residential and com-mercial customers, and their two young girls are also artists and promising business per-sons themselves. Chan’s sister-in-law, Melissa Perrine, is the business offi ce manager and Chan’s father Tom Mentzer, a retired Chester-fi eld Schools guidance counselor, also takes an active role in the company. Mentzer, Inc. is located at 427 Ellerslie Ave. Colonial Heights in the Ellerslie Avenue Busi-ness Park. As a general contractor, Mentzer, Inc.’s role in your construction needs is to ensure that you have quality coordination of architecture, engineering, carpentry, brick-work, electrical, plumbing and roofi ng. They will monitor your project from the “ground up.” Choose Mentzer, Inc., and you choose the fi n-est construction available.

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Iʼve made my New Yearʼs resolution a little early.I found out about a “healthy heart” exercise program

through the local hospital. Classes meet at the college in an indoor arena with a walking track. (The bonus is that the building is heated.) I go three times a week at dawn and combine fast and slow laps around the track with mild stretching exercises run by two employees of the hospitalʼs program.

So far I like it. Itʼs a chore to get there before the sun is up (we have to be fi nished before the college students swarm in), but once Iʼm there and working out, Iʼm energized for the rest of the day.

My resolution, then, is to keep at it. Perhaps if I do this now, before I actually need a “healthy heart” program, I might not ever need it at all.

Are you going to make any resolutions this New Year? Here are a few ideas to think about:

• Volunteer on a regular basis. Grocery-shop for a

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neighbor once a week. Knit mittens for kids or helmet liners for soldiers. Sign up to deliver Meals on Wheels. Drive cancer patients to chemo. Take a class now so you can be a volunteer tax preparer in the spring. Sign up with a local charity for a set number of hours per week. Thereʼs always something that needs to be done.

• Do something for your mind every day. Explore new authors you havenʼt read before. Ask about auditing college courses for free, or if there isnʼt a school near you, check for online classes. Tackle more diffi cult crossword puzzles.

If youʼre like me, resolutions are hard to keep. But maybe, just maybe, this year will be different.

Matilda Charles regrets that she cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into her column whenever possible. Write to her in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to [email protected].

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have lived with my boyfriend for a year, and we are going to get mar-ried soon. One obstacle to marriage for me is his snoring. Itʼs so loud that I cannot sleep with him. He starts out with a soft snore that builds into a sound that rivals a jet engine. He says snoring is a family thing for him.

He is tired all day long. He works hard, comes home, takes a nap, eats and then says heʼs still tired. He sleeps a lot on weekends, too. Does snor-ing have anything to do with this? -- B.K.

ANSWER: Let me describe sleep apnea, and you judge whether it applies to your fi ance. Typically, it involves snoring that gets louder and louder and then suddenly stops. Silence reigns. After a short while, the snorer makes a grunting sound and the snoring cycle repeats.

The period of silence is the apnea period. “Apnea” means “no breathing.” Apnea episodes last 10 or more seconds, and they end when the snorer makes a grunting sound and resumes his snoring. During ap-nea, blood oxygen content dips, and the dip partially rouses the person to begin breathing.

Sleep apnea is a health menace. The drop in blood oxygen has several important consequences. It affects the heart and can lead to dangerous heart rhythms. People with sleep apnea often develop high blood pressure and all the complications of increased pres-sure. These people do not get restorative sleep. They

feel drugged during the day.The diagnosis of sleep apnea is made with special

studies done in a sleep lab. Portable equipment is available for home testing.

If your fi ance is overweight, weight loss might put an end to snoring and apnea. He should drink no alco-hol after 5 p.m. A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine keeps air fl owing past the throat ob-struction that blocks its entry into the lungs. Talk your fi ance into discussing these matters with his doctor.

The booklet on chronic fatigue syndrome includes a discussion of sleep apnea. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue -- No. 304W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 38253-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipient s̓ printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

***DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Sometimes I jerk

awake just before falling asleep. Why? Can any-thing be done about it? -- J.A.

ANSWER: That happens to lots of people, and sometimes it happens when a person is just wakening. There s̓ a temporary disconnect between the brain and muscles at those times, and it results in a short jerk. It s̓ not a sign of any illness.

I donʼt know of any treatment for it. Most people fall asleep shortly after it happens.

Blame Sleep Apnea for Daytime Fatique

(c) 2008 King Features Synd., Inc.

To Your Good Health

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.


A ROSY NEW YEAR (continued):• True Argentine tango dancers never clench a

rose in their teeth while executing their moves on the dance fl oor. The roots of this visual cliché can be traced to 1921, when silent fi lm star Rudolph Valentino performed a sexy tango in the fi lm The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Valentino, dressed as a gaucho with a whip dangling from his hip, rakishly clenched a single rose in his teeth and cut in on a couple on the dance fl oor. The tango he danced with the lovely señorita was decidedly risqué, even by today’s standards.

• After winning the Revolutionary War, America offi cially abolished the use of British aristocratic titles as “duke” and “prince.” However, Rose Kennedy – the very American matriarch of the Kennedy dynasty – was a “countess.” Pope Pius XII bestowed upon her the honorifi c title of “Papal Countess” in 1951, in recognition of her “exemplary motherhood” and her exhaustive résumé of charitable works. Only a handful of other American women have been granted this honor.

• Were you aware that many maps are decorated with a rose? You’ve probably seen a compass rose without knowing that it had a name – it’s the decorative North-South-East-West directional indicator. Sometimes, the design is very basic, depicting only the four main points of direction. On older maps, compass roses provided 32 directional reference points, giving them shapes more like real-life “roses.”

• Tokyo Rose was a generic name given to several English-speaking Japanese women who served as announcers on radio stations spouting war propaganda during World War II and the Korean War. They taunted American soldiers with stories of infi delities of their women back home and fi ctitious reports of Japanese victories in various battles.

1. Name the last black pitcher before Cleveland’s CC Sabathia in 2007 to win a Cy Young Award.

2. Kenny Lofton set a record in 2007 for most career stolen bases in the postseason. Who had held the

mark, and with how many?

3. Name the fi rst two quarterbacks to have beaten 31 other NFL teams in their careers.

4. Pete Maravich holds the top three spots for highest points-per-game average for a season in Division I college basketball. Who is No. 4?

5. Two teams hold the NHL’s longest current streak for failing to make the playoffs. Name them.

6. Who was the youngest season champion in Formula One racing before 23-year-old Lewis Hamilton set the mark in 2008?

7. Name the last year tennis star Chris Evert was No. 1 in the annual top-10 women’s world rankings.

�� Play better golf with JACK NICKLAUS

Paul Menard, whoʼs had a respectable career at Dale Earnhardt Inc., moves to Yates Racing this year, carrying the sponsorship of his fatherʼs home-improvement chain with him.The 28-year-old from Eau Claire, Wis., won a Nationwide Series race in his home state on June 24, 2006. In 2003, at Talladega, Menard won an ARCA race in his fi rst visit to that track.

Winning at stock-car racingʼs top level? “Itʼs all about fast race cars,” he said. “Ultimately, thatʼs it. The ARCA race we sat on pole, got disqualifi ed, started in the back. Once I got up front, I had the fastest car and nobody could get around me.”

Some see Menardʼs move as going from one struggling team to another.

“Iʼm defi nitely looking forward to going to Yates,” he said. “Thereʼs the potential of fast race cars there, just because the engine department is so highly regarded. Itʼs going to be promising for us at Daytona.

“DEI? Theyʼre going to be OK in the future. Itʼs nice to have all that behind us. Iʼve been able to concentrate on preparing for next year, and the same was true at DEI.”

Menard said he wonʼt look back.“I looked at everything on paper. I made the

decision to part DEI, so it falls on my shoulders, and Iʼm very confi dent with my decision.”

Like many of todayʼs young stars, Menardʼs love of NASCAR came relatively late.

“I grew up around the Indy 500, but the Daytona 500 was right there alongside the Indy 500,” he said. “I grew up an Indy-car guy, but the last, about, 15 years, Iʼve really gotten into stock-car racing and watching Dale Earnhardt Sr., Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and all of those guys go at it.

“Growing up in Wisconsin, where, in February, there isnʼt a whole lot to do, we would watch the Daytona 500, then go play around on our snowmobiles.”

Monte Dutton has covered motorsports for The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette since 1993. He was named writer of the year by the National Motorsports Press Association in 2008. His blog NASCAR This Week (http://nascar.rbma.com) features all of his reporting on racing, roots music and life on the road. You can e-mail Monte at [email protected].

• A couple more tidbits from the fi les of musical performers’ unusual backstage requirements: Pop and R&B singer Christina Aguilera must have Flintstones vitamins, and singer and actress Mariah Carey insists on having drinking straws with a bend rather than the straight variety.

• You might be surprised to learn that residents of New York City get a white Christmas roughly only once every four years.

• Have you ever committed catachresis? I try to avoid it (in this column, at least), but unless you are unusually articulate -- or simply don’t speak or write much -- then it’s almost certain that you have. Catachresis is just a fancy term for the misuse of words.

• Those who study such things say that the most popular seafood in the United States is shrimp, followed by canned tuna in second place and salmon in third.

By Samantha Weaver

• Researchers have discovered that humans aren’t the only ones to imbibe alcohol on a regular basis. It seems that the tiny pen-tailed tree shrew makes a habit of consuming naturally fermented palm fl ower nectar, which has an alcohol content of 3.8 percent -- comparable to that of most beers.

• It was Pulitzer and Nobel prize-winning novelist, short-story writer and journalist Ernest Hemingway who made the following observation: “An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”

• There are people who spend their time counting the number of times people blink and why, but they still can’t explain why an adult in a calm state of mind blinks 15 times per minute, while a newborn baby blinks only twice per minute.

“An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who

operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living.” -- Nicholas Chamfort

Thought of the week

Menard Sees Fast Future With Yates Racing



To Your Good Health

By Paul G. Donohue, M.D.


A ROSY NEW YEAR (continued):• The actress known as Rose Marie (famous

for The Dick Van Dyke Show and Hollywood Squares) did have a last name – Mazetta. She got her show business start at the age of three as a part of her parents’ vaudeville act, where she was billed as “Baby Rose Marie.” Shockingly, she revealed in her autobiography that the support of several organized crime fi gures (including Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel) was instrumental in helping her make the career transition from child star to nightclub performer.

• Axl Rose, lead singer of heavy metal band Guns n’ Roses, was named William Bruce Rose upon birth. His divorced mother then married a man named Stephen Bailey. Due to taunts related to the popular early-1900s song “Bill Bailey,” the youngster detested the thought of using that name. As a teenager, he reverted to using his biological father’s surname (Rose). When he joined up with musicians Jeff Isbell and Saul Hudson, they decided they needed edgier, rock-and-roll names. So they became known as Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Slash, respectively.

• In the original Brothers Grimm story, Snow White had a sister by the name of Rose Red. Unlike the elegant Snow White, Rose was the rambunctious, “tomboy” of the family. When Snow White wed Prince Charming, Rose Red exchanged vows with his younger brother in a double-wedding ceremony.

• The traditional romantic rhyme that states “Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you” is believed to have been adapted from an epic poem written by Edmund Spenser. Known as “The Fairie Queene,” the late 16th-century work includes the following verse: “She bathed with roses red and violets blue / And all the sweetest fl owers that in the forest grew.”

HIGH VISIBILITY • RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY! • CALL 1.804.731.7504

Q: This might be a good tip for those do-it-your-selfers who feel they are ready to tackle electrical repairs. We recently had an electrician come in to update the wiring in our kitchen as part of a remodeling project. During a break we were chatting, and the electrician told us an important safety tip. Anytime you touch a wire, you should touch it with the back of your hand -- not your fi ngertips!

The reason for this, he explained, is that the hand naturally closes around things. If you touch a wire with the fi ngertips and the wire is live, your hand may refl exively grip closed around the wire, leav-ing you unable to pull away. If instead you touch the wire fi rst with the back of your hand, and it is

live, you will be able to pull your hand away.I thought this would be a useful safety tip for

your readers. -- Margie L., Kennebunk, Maine

A: That s̓ a great safety tip, Margie, and thank you for sending it!One must always shut off the circuit to the electri-

cal outlet or switch being worked on, and test it us-ing a voltage tester before commencing work. This step -- touching the wire with the back of the hand fi rst -- provides an added layer of safety and costs nothing more than a few extra seconds of your time. But it should only be done after you have made cer-tain the circuit is open (off) -- it s̓ the last step before going ahead with wiring work.

HOME TIP: Taking down holiday lights? Now is the time to inspect all light strings and extension cords for exposed wiring, broken plugs or loose connections. Discard and replace cords that show this sort of damage.

Send questions or home-repair tips to [email protected], or write This Is a Ham-mer, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

Backhand Safety TipBy Samantha Mazzotta


• Got leftover alcohol from holiday parties? Get the musty smell from wool items by spritzing them with straight vodka. It kills the bacteria and mold without leaving behind any smell.

• “I keep a stack of brown paper bags that I will use on nights when I expect the weather to ice over. I put them on my windshield, and I can pull them right off in the morning. I try to shake them off and let them dry so that they can be reused as well. It beats scraping ice early in the morning, that’s for sure!” -- A Reader in Montana

• Here’s a fi replace reminder: Don’t burn maga-zines or colored, glossy advertising inserts. When

you think of newspaper to get a fi re started, you should be thinking of the black-and-white, front-page newsprint variety. The others are not safe.

• “I was rushing to put up some photos on the wall in my apartment when my parents came for a visit. I messed up a couple of spots, and I needed to fi ll the holes. My roommate suggested we use toothpaste. It totally worked. We can go back later and patch them with spackle -- if we can fi nd them, that is.” -- T.C. in Texas

• Need to get a grip -- on a jar lid? Try putting on a pair of dishwashing gloves. They give great trac-tion even when the jar lid is slippery.

• To break in stiff jeans, wash them in a regular cycle to which you’ve added a half-cup of salt.

Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475 or e-mail JoAnn at [email protected].


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Tidbits® of the Tri-Cities Page 6 Page 7For Advertising Call 1.804.731.7504ANSWERS 1. Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets

in 1985.2. Rickey Henderson, with 33 stolen bases.3. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady achieved the feat in 2007.4. Frank Selvy averaged 41.7 points per game for Furman in 1953-54.5. The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets, with seven seasons each entering 2008-09.6. Fernando Alonso was 24 when he won the season title in 2005.7. It was 1981.

Every year since 1985, the American Institute for Economic Research has come out with a new edition of its book “What Your Car Really Costs.” If youʼre about to shop for a car or wonder what your current one actually costs you, this book should be a piece of your information arsenal.One of the fi rst facts the book offers is something

of a shock: The average American will spend approximately $320,000 on cars over a lifetime. That equates to 18 percent of a consumerʼs income. The only thing that costs more is our homes.The true cost of auto ownership isnʼt limited to

the price of the car. Add to that fuel and oil, repairs and maintenance, insurance, the cost of a loan or lease, depreciation (a signifi cant amount in the cost of ownership), fuel effi ciency and taxes, and that $320,000 doesnʼt seem so far-fetched. If you limit your auto cost calculations to what you

pay in a monthly payment, you could be skewing the numbers in your personal long-term fi nancial plan. For example: If the depreciation difference between two vehicles is invested instead of spent, that dollar amount could grow to well over $100,000. Between a modest sedan and a luxury car, that number climbs much higher.

“What Your Car Really Costs” walks you through a number of important steps.• The use of Consumer Reports magazine auto

information to compare models for reliability and road-worthiness. As the authors point out, CRʼs “recommended” vehicles often hold their value longer.• The true cost differences between owning a small

sedan, large sedan, SUV or minivan. • The resale value when it comes time to sell or trade

in. • Buying new vs. buying used.• How to calculate the real meaning of promotional

offers of low interest rates or rebates and how those translate into dollars.• An explanation of MSRP (the window-sticker price)

when it comes to buying.• Understanding a lease.• Auto insurance basics.At the end of the book are charts to fi ll in with your

own fi gures, as well as consumer protection contacts by state.To order “What Your Car Really Costs,” see

www.aier.org online or call 413-528-1216. Copies are $12 each.David Uffi ngton regrets that he cannot personally

answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his column whenever possible. Write to him in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475, or send e-mail to [email protected].


ALL THE PRESIDENTS’ TIDBITS

BENJAMIN HARRISONLong before the Bush family made its impact on American politics, there were the Harrisons. William Henry Harrison only spent a month as president, but his grandson, Benjamin, had a bit longer stay in the White House.

• Benjamin Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, on August 20, 1833. His father, John Scott Harrison, holds the unique distinction of being the only man who was both the son of a U.S. president and the father of one.

• The youngster experienced a typical if uneventful Midwestern childhood, insomuch as his grandfather became president when Benjamin was seven years old. Raised in a strong Presbyterian household, Harrison learned that his ancestors had a long history of service to America. (Benjamin’s namesake great-grandfather had signed the Declaration of Independence.) He developed a keen interest in history and became an adept writer and speaker on the subject.

• Harrison entered the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio, with designs on becoming a minister. By the time he graduated in 1852, however, Harrison had changed his attention to the study of law. He spent two years at a Cincinnati legal fi rm, but never completely forgot his religious roots: In 1853, he wed long-time girlfriend Caroline Scott, the daughter of a Presbyterian preacher.

• The couple settled in Indianapolis, where Benjamin entered into a law partnership and joined the Republican Party. Harrison began a slow but steady ascent through local and state politics, which was interrupted by the Civil War. While he did not aspire to become a military hero, it quickly became clear that Benjamin was an able leader. He left the U.S. Army in 1865 as a brigadier general.

• Returning to Indianapolis to continue his road to success, Harrison’s continued support of the dominant Republicans led to two unsuccessful attempts to win the Indiana gubernatorial election. In 1880, he parlayed his support of James Garfi eld for president into a U.S. senate seat. Party members were well aware that Harrison’s pedigree would make him a popular choice as their nominee for president, but Benjamin rejected their overtures until he was defeated for senate reelection. In early 1888, he announced his candidacy for the White House.

What’s the Real Cost of Owning Your Car

2nd Quarter 2006Week 22

May 28 - Jun 3

Back Page

BICYCLES (continued):• In the 1890s, the first “modern” bicycles

appeared: chain-driven vehicles with simi-larly-sized tires. These were safer than the high-wheel models (and were even called “safety bicycles” as a result), but proved a step backwards in comfort. While the long spokes of high-wheel bikes absorbed bumps and ruts, the smaller wheels on these new bikes, particularly when coupled with the hard-rubber tires of the era, made for jarring, unpleasant rides.

• More than a million bicycles were sold in the United States by the time 1895 rolled around, but one last improvement would propel the bicycle into the must-own category: the pneu-matic tire. Under the guidance of the Pope Manufacturing Company (which made bi-cycles), the Hartford Rubber Works produced America’s first pneumatic tires in 1895. Pro-viding a much softer ride, they soon became a standard feature on all bicycle models.

• Dozens of smaller-scale improvements boosted the speed, comfort, longevity and performance of bicycles during the 20th century. As women began to find them as necessary as men, two varieties of bicycle were made. Men’s bikes were built with an extra stabilizer bar across the top of the bike. Women’s bikes omitted the bar, providing for easier mounting and dismounting of the vehicle when wearing skirts.

• The 1970s saw the development of two bi-cycle extremes. First came bicycles that took you nowhere. Otherwise known as exercise bikes, these training aids first hit the home market at the beginning of the decade. Then, as time went on and the energy crisis sent fuel prices skyrocketing, mopeds appeared. These bicycle/motorcycle hybrids, most popular with city-centered business workers, could either be pedaled like a regular bike or powered using a small, low-powered gasoline engine.

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“Happy New Year from Tidbits of the Tri-Cities” Make sure and call us to list your 2009 events!

City of Colonial Heights:Scrap Booking

The Colonial Heights Recreation and Parks Department is pleased to announce several Scrap Booking classes for youth, adults, and seniors. All classes are $10.00 and include supplies for a two page 12x12 layout. Scrap booking topics vary by date, participant age and class however, topics range from genealogy, holiday hur-rah, resolutions, and friendships. Instructor: Deborah Malbone. www.mycraftivity.com/groovy/doodles/

City of Hopewell: Game Day @ the Library

Jan. 3, 2009

Join us at the Hopewell Library for board games and video games from 2pm-5pm. Call 804-861-0322 for details.

Parent / Child Tea Party

Jan. 31, 2009

Celebrate National Tea Month with an English-style Tea at the Hopewell Library. Be sure to register by January 23rd by calling Dee Dee Whitman, 804-458-6329 ext. 1013. The event is free but space is limited.

SEAFOODRESTAURANT

Still in the same location...serving quality seafood in the Tri-Cities area

for over 40 years!

804-520-02773650 Boulevard, Col. Heights • Open Tue-Sat at 5pm

Come Try Our Daily Seafood Specials!

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Tidbits of the Tri-Cities Issue #22