chuckography: May 2007

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Going "HOG WILD"....

We all get junk mail. That's just part of life.

Companies buy mailing lists and send out special offers. A good direct mail campaign can be great for business!

BUT, the mail needs to reach the right audience.

Especially if you are offering a free gift for taking a "demo ride" on a Harley-Davidson.

Well, my 91-year old Mom got this mailing with that Harley offer and she's a good sport and got a laugh.

Picture this: Mom is in her nineties with failing eyesight and she's a pretty frail lady. But she has a lively sense of humor and asked me to respond.

These days, the only "riding" she does is on a stair-glide up and down the front steps. Her mind is sharp and she'll still give me "the look" if I say the wrong thing or if my actions cause her to think I've lost my mind.

So we worked on a response. I thanked the Marketing Department in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for thinking of my Mom and for their generous offer of a demo ride. However she would have to decline because her doctor thought it would be unwise.

I enclosed the photo of her coming up the stairs on her "ride."

Mom asked me to mention that she knew she was not eligible for the free gift because she had turned down the demo ride but added "I hope you'll send me a FREE Harley-Davidson t-shirt (size small) or a leather skull cap."

She promised she would wear it as she ramps up and down the front steps. VARROOM!

Labels: direct mail, Harley-Davidson, Hog, skull cap, stair-glide, t-shirt

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Yet Another "Sign"

It was not cheap but having a fancy, good-looking sign to direct people to your blog is an important step.

This is not really about ego. You are trying to communicate so reach your audience however you can, I say.

This particular plaque is in Columbia, SC and I plan to have others placed as soon as I can raise more money.

If you're in Columbia, look for it. It's near Boyd Plaza. Very, very near.

Since you are reading this on my blog, the sign MUST be working.

Labels: Columbia, money, plaque

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Signs of the times...

As the Tourism Season prepares to open here in Charleston, perhaps it is time to take a look at how other cities use signage to try to educate visitors about basic issues ..such as proper dress.

Sometimes even the most obvious needs to be highlighted.

Spoleto is just around the corner so the discrete brass sign shown above (from New Orleans) probably would be a good start.

Now THIS sign spotted a few blocks away from Bourbon Street gave me pause.

We all have been told that "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." so perhaps there is a reason to proclaim this type of warning in The Big Easy.

What bothered me is it was posted on a neighborhood convenience store.

We MAY not be at this point yet.

Charleston may never actually pass a ban on smoking but at least a few restaurants are allowed to put out their tables and chairs on selected and very specific sized sidewalks.

We might be even moving closer to that very relaxed attitude that prevails right now in New Orleans' French Quarter and down in Savannah.

Walking around with open containers would probably work well here..but, gentlemen, not in a tank top, please.

Labels: Big Easy, French Quarter, Las Vegas, signs, tank tops

Friday, May 04, 2007

Numbers Tell The Story...

.....at three minutes and four
seconds after 2 AM on the 6th of May this year, the time and date will
be: 02:03:04 05/06/07.

This will not happen again in our lifetimes.

My last car was a good one and passed 100,000 miles with no major problems. In fact, I kept an eye on the odometer to capture the moment it passed a significant mark.

As the countdown continued, I made sure to keep my camera handy - in the car.

The magic moment passed and I remembered it about 12 miles later.

My dad told a story about a man who wanted to sell his car and sought out information on how to "roll back" the odometer - obviously against the law.

A few days later my dad asked if he had sold the car and the man laughed and said "Are you kidding, why would I get rid of a car with such low mileage?!"

Labels: mileage, my dad, odometer

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

A GREAT Way To Celebrate A Birthday...

Now that everyone (well, those who read this blog) saw my old college student ID card, you know I just had a birthday.

It's at the end of April so I'm a Taurus. It's my 68th.

Hopefully many, many more to come!

Growing up on Society Street in Ansonborough, we had an unusual family tradition of borrowing a camera to take snapshots of birthdays and other important events across the street "in front of Mrs. O'Rourke's house." There are no photos of OUR house or our backyard.

See, across the street, the sunlight would shine over my Mom's left shoulder ...just as Kodak suggested.

Or with the sun directly overhead so your face was mostly in shadow.

We had a lot to learn about photography and, getting our own camera would be the first step.

But, this posting is about my birthday and a suggestion on how to celebrate your birthday so others can enjoy it for a long, long time.

In honor of my turning 68, I sat down with a Funeral Director and planned my funeral. We even wrote an obit.

My children will not have to make these decisions at a sad time and I bought it with today's dollars. The funeral is all paid for and I can cross that off the list of "things to do before I die."

Labels: Ansonborough, birthday, funeral, Kodak, pre-need

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