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.
“Shane, I read with interest your article on the relationship between the size of a person's toes and their personality, but, frankly, now I'm confused (Long toes, Jan. 22, 2024). I always thought that if your big toe is the longest, it meant you loved to go shopping. If your second toe is longer, it meant you were a homebody. A long third toe meant you were a carnivore, especially fond of beef. And a prominent fourth toe meant you were always hungry. And finally, a significant little toe indicated a bladder problem, because it went ‘wee, wee, wee’ all the way home.” - Bob
Hook. Line. And “stinker.” You got me, Bob. Thanks for the laugh. - Shane
“Shane, thanks for the walk down memory lane with the story about Casey Kasem (American Top 40, Jan. 29, 2024). I loved his shows and even looked forward to the top 100 shows on New Year’s Eve. Some other greats that I listened to were Wolfman Jack’s ‘The Midnight Special.’ (I would listen to this on Saturday nights when babysitting after the kids were asleep while waiting for their parents to return.) Another was Dick Clark in ‘American Bandstand.’ All of these icons shared the music industry in a unique way, and I always looked forward to hearing them each week.” - Lu Anne
I can still hear the static from my AM transistor radio as I tried to tune in WOW so I could listen to the Wolfman. And what was a Saturday without watching “American Bandstand” and Dick Clark? We can sometimes forget how influential these folks were in the music industry. - Shane
“Lovely column (Visiting, Jan. 30, 2024)! Happy Tuesday!” - Joe
Do you find any irony that in a column about the lack of face-to-face communication, you texted this message to me? - Shane
“I remember when we would go back to visit my grandparents (Visiting, Jan. 30, 2024). I was just a little thing, maybe 5 or 6 and used to get all cleaned up to go ‘visiting.’ I hated it at the time, but, in retrospect, I don’t know why. I’d get so much attention. Sure I got slobbered on by sweet old ladies, but that was a small price to pay for good old fashioned rural Iowa baked goods that were always present when we went visiting. And I don’t remember Mom calling in advance; we just dropped in and were always so warmly welcomed, and they were thrilled to see us. All of those precious old people are gone now, including Mom, but I can still feel their kisses on my cheeks and smell the baked good aromas from their little houses with the doilies on the back of the couch. Precious memories!” - Lori
That all sounds wonderful to me. Except the doilies. - Shane
“My father was emailing and texting me more than he called because he got used to ‘visiting’ that way (Visiting, Jan. 30, 2024). But, growing up, the ‘visiting’ you described in your column was the way my parents did it (and, by extension, my sisters and I) in rural Minnesota, at lots of ‘pot lucks’ and ‘fish suppers’ and family get-togethers. Since I’m probably in the ‘low chat percentile,’ I’ve found it’s easier to keep conversations shorter by texting or emailing.” - Rick
Make sense to me, but I hope to still see you at the fish supper. - 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
See Shane Goodman's previous columns here. | 
