SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH BILLCHERRY-- a Regular Sunday Feature
VOGUE. "The first illustrated fashion magazine grew out of a weekly society paper that began in 1892. In 1909, a young publisher, Condé Nast, bought the paper and transformed it into a leading magazine that signaled a new approach to women's magazines."
Dallas' NorthPark has in the concourse between Nordstrom and Neiman-Marcus, a worthy display of Vogue's original fashion photographs. I am totally enamored by the young woman posed in a long white silk gown with a harp of broken strings in the background.
Photography is an important art form that, in my opinion, has never gotten its just recognition. These Vogue photographs should be evidence of that to anyone who sees and studies them.
IDENTITY THEFT. The three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion have initiated a new service. For a fee of $10 each, they will freeze your credit files so that identity thieves cannot get credit cards in your name. For another $10, you can allow the freeze released for a legitimate inquiry.
MAKE ME CRAZY. There is no reason whatsoever to say, "He's a Jewish rabbi." There are no other kinds of rabbis. Please don't use "myself" without preceding it with "I" or "me." "As far as myself is (am) concerned," is incorrect. "As far as I, myself, am concerned," is correct. When you write the word "it's" there is a huge chance that you mean "its." "It's" is not the possessive of "it." So always double check.
MORTGAGE PREPAYMENT PENALTIES. It turns out that these darned things, once on the way out, resurfaced during the race of recent years to buy/refinance homes while interest rates were unusually low. Those with adjustable rate mortgages are now finding that to refinance and get out from under the rising rate will cost them a serious penalty. It's past due for the government to make prepayment penalties illegal.
INTER-STATE BATTERIES. This began as a mom and pop business that, for the first time ever, brought honor to the car battery business. You buy a battery from these people, and if it fails during the warranty, any dealer who sells Interstate will stick a brand new one in your car, no fuss, no muss, no questions, no money.
The company, headquartered in Dallas, has been run for years (since 1978) by Norman Miller. Two hundred thousand dealers now carry the Interstate battery. But what is interesting is the amount of time and energy and money Norm and his wife, Anne, have put into their own Christian ministry. His autobiography, Beyond the Norm is quite a testimony. It's sold thousands and remains available at Amazon.com, and last week I saw a handful of copies at the Dallas Half-Price Books. How it starts and how it ends will surprise you as well as give you hope.
DUMB WORDS. Jeffrey Gitomer has done a good job of writing how-to-sell books. In one, he lists some words that are sure to get your prospect to mentally turn you off. Here they are: today, frankly, honestly, if I were you, or anything negative about a prospect's choice.
RISING ABOVE SORROW. This is a 200-or-so page book of "stories of lives renewed" that was edited by Phyllis Hobe and is one of the books in the Guidepost series. For years, I have tried my best to give friends and clients some symbol of hope when they've lost a loved one or are in some other deep trauma. I think that's the thing to do. Published in 2005, this has become one of them that I frequently give.
RELIVING THE ‘50s and ‘60s. "An American Graffiti" got it right when the story involved a drive-in. No one could ever have been happier than I was and continue to be, that my teen years and young twenties took place then. And for me, it was the drive-ins that spanned Galveston's famous seawall - the Surf, Boulevard, Crow's, Keith's and Prince's.
In Dallas, near the corner of Northwest Highway and Abrams Road, is Keller's Drive-in. It's where regular folks have a section of the lot, bikers have another section, and vintage car owners have another section. All coexisting. And the catalyst is the drive-in hamburger that no - not one - franchise or inside restaurant has ever come close to replicating. At Keller's the burgers still come wrapped in waxed paper, the buns have poppy seeds, the lettuce is shredded and the onions are grilled.
Two people can each have burger, fries and soft drink and tip the carhop for eleven bucks. Then, it'll be all you can do to keep from burning rubber as you leave. They all know us there. Tell 'em Patty and Bill sent ya!
SALVATION ARMY KETTLES. In Dallas the Christmas kettles that the Salvation Army has put out at store entrances for as long as I can remember, are up early this year. The Salvation Army is the only charitable organization that I know that is genuinely happy with small donations. Please put a nickel, dime, quarter or dollar in each kettle as you pass them during the Christmas season. You'll be amazed at the joy it will bring you.
CURSING. Conservative talk show host and scholar, Dennis Prager, made an interesting observation last week. He noted that cursing and swearing in public conversation is generally an accepted and used behavior among the political left. While I had noticed its occurrence, I hadn't thought about its being peculiar to one particular group. Looking back, I think he may be right. Frankly, I personally abhor it. It's not amusing, funny or hip.
Drawing of Man in the Park by Carlotta Barker.
Copyright William S. Cherry - 2007
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