Welcome to the Friday mailbag where you will find some of the comments, questions and ideas sent recently by subscribers of this newsletter or our publications. They are edited for space and clarity.
“I’ve been a car guy all my life, first helping my dad wash our lone car back in the 1950s and 1960s (Keeping it clean, March 9, 2023). I mostly washed my cars by hand, and all three of my daughters know how to wash and detail a car. (I still do it for them, though!) I’ve used car washing and detailing as a way to calm down and release tension. To me, keeping a car as close to new for as long as possible is fun. By the way, my wife and I have been married 55 years, and we’ve owned 70 different vehicles. She says she can never remember what she’s driving when she comes out of a store looking for her car in the parking lot!” - Bruce
I am all for calming down and releasing tension. Some guys golf to do it. Some guys drink. Some guys gamble. You and I wash cars. Glad to see I’m not alone. - Shane
“Liked the article on car washes today (Keeping it clean, March 9, 2023. I shared with our extended family. Big family text chat happening as we speak. Ranging from 13 car washes a month (maybe a little exaggerated) to someone who is unsure if they will achieve 13 car washes in their lifetime (that’s why God provides rainstorms)!” - Dennis
Lucky No. 13, I see. - Shane
“I really enjoy your column. It is the one thing I read every day! I am 81, and you often reach back a long ways in that length of time. Great job!” - Jay
I find that if we try, we can learn that we all have much in common. Thanks, Jay. - Shane
“Good morning, Shane. My father raised us with a job at New Jersey Bell (Pay phones, March 14, 2023). He was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America due to his many years of service. As told by History.com, ‘The first discernible speech is transmitted over a telephone system when Alexander Graham Bell summons his assistant in another room by saying: Mr. Watson, come here, I need you.’ I finish the tale that Mr. Bell was wondering why my father was not back with coffee and rolls yet. The last time I looked, there is a phone booth in Kelley, Iowa. Thanks, as always.” - John
Next time I am in Kelley, I am getting my coins out to give it a try. - Shane
“Shane, I’m close in age to you, and I think the last time I used a pay phone was to make a collect call to my parents in the mid 1990s (Pay phones, March 14, 2023). I was living four hours away and would call a couple times a month on their dime to say hi. It was before cell phones were a thing. Now our kids call us anytime on the family mobile plan. How times have changed.” - Kevin
Do you ever wonder how many fewer calls or texts there would be if there was a charge for each one? - Shane
“Shane, you are probably too young to remember walking by one and checking the coin return slot to see if there were any coins in it (Pay phones, March 14, 2023). This was before calling cards and answering machines, and if the person on the other end of the call didn’t pick up and no connection was made, the machine would return your pre-pay coin in the coin return. Sometimes a caller would walk away and forget to retrieve their ‘dime’ and it became a windfall to a little kid who did check the slot. Free money! Of course, this was back when a dime really bought something.” - Bob
I do recall checking the coin return for that windfall, but I don’t recall ever finding one. - Shane
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com
| 
