Published in Old Town Gazette, May, 2008 

The city council finally passed a smoking ban.  It’s not a total ban though.  If it’s a restaurant or club, smoking will be allowed if everyone in the place is 18.  Does this mean the bartenders and servers will now have to check 2 ID’s?  It sure sounds like it.  “I need to check your ID sir, to see if you’re old enough to drink, and I need to check your friend’s ID to see if she’s old enough to be in a place that allows smoking.

There will be those who try to defy the ban.  If it’s been well established that it’s a no smoking bar, I think security should carry a water pistol filled with gasoline and shoot the cigarette.  Whether the cigarette is in the mouth, or the hand, it would sure send a message.

Because smoking bans are spreading throughout the country, one tobacco company has come up with a mint that contains as much nicotine as a cigarette.  Health officials want these mints banned too.  They claim people can die from 2nd hand breath.

You can sure tell it’s spring.  Girls are wearing less on top.  Necklines go down as the temperature goes up.  It really brings meaning to the term, “spring is busting out all over.”

Of course spring brings the River Festival.  This year’s was one of the better one’s I think.  It’s hard to imagine anyone griping about $5.00 for a pin.  With over a week’s entertainment, I can’t think of a better buy.

My favorite spring holidays are My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It Day—May 30.  I use the same bucket every year.  (It’s that one with the picture of Rick Nelson on the side.)  Repeat Day—June 3.  You do the same thing you did the day before.  (I celebrate this one almost every day.)  National Shampoo Week—June7-13.  Here again, I celebrate it every week.  (I’m a hairdresser.)

Gridiron went great.  It was the 40th anniversary of the show and it was wonderful to have Randy Brown back as MC.  This marked his 35th Gridiron.  As you know he couldn’t do the show last year because of his motorcycle mishap.  He broke the crowd up when he started off with, “Well, I’ve got one foot in the grave.”

Among the things I did was impersonating Governor Kathleen Sibellius taking on the coal power plant boys in the legislature.  The song parody was to Coal Minors Daughter.

I’ll be in Music Theatre of Wichita’s first production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  It will run June 4th to June 8th.  Producing Director Wayne Bryan has done another masterful job of lining up another terrific season.  It’s always such a rush for me to perform with such talented people. 

Former Wichitan and renowned opera star, Myrna Paris will be in this show.  She’s coming to Wichita to do the opera, Pirates of Pinzance and will stay a little while longer to do A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Well, we’ve gone full circle. Before I was born, people sent messages by telegraph.  They would tap them out and then decode them.  Then came the telephone and people could actually talk to each other.  Now we’ve advanced to the point where we can tap things out on the phone and then decode them.  It’s called texting.  They have their own textspeak  so decoding is once again fashionable.  Have fun people.  I think it’s easier to talk.

Bucky on Baseball

As Wichita State gets ready for post season play, Shocker baseball fans are once again wringing their hands and worrying that the team has slumped.  They need to remind themselves that last year they lost 7 of their last 15 games.  They then went on to win the Regional and almost won the Super Regional. I have no doubt that Coach Stevenson will have them playing right at the right time.

I haven’t seen the Wingnuts yet.  They’re drawing big crowds and I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun.  I’m still trying to figure out what a Wingnut is.  Oh, I’ve had it explained to me, but so what?  I’m trying to picture the mascot.