It's better to give: Phil Reschke of Alpine called our office the other day to ask how to spell Joey Buttafuoco's name. He said he needed it for a message he was sending throughout his company about giving blood during the holidays. Here are Reschke's top 10 reasons to give:
10. It's a quick way to lose a little of that extra holiday weight.9. It's a perfect gift . . . you don't have to worry about getting the wrong color and you don't have to stand in line for two hours to have it wrapped.
8. They give a "kiss me, I gave blood today" sticker that you can reuse in case the mistletoe doesn't work.
7. It's a great excuse. For example, "I'm sorry I can't go shopping tonight, I gave blood today."
6. You get to watch TV while they're drawing your blood and if you're lucky you might even see something other than another rerun of "It's A Wonderful Life."
5. For those of you who are single, it's a great way to meet a good-looking nurse or rich doctor who could then be your lucky date for all those wonderful Christmas parties.
4. Joey Buttafuoco - He probably won't be giving (or getting) much of anything this year.
3. Reliable sources say that even Elvis was seen giving blood this year.
2. Hey, it's Christmas and it's only blood. It's not like they're asking for one of your lungs or something.
1. Free food. After you give them blood they give you cookies and juice, and if you're really good you don't have to eat any of that dreaded fruitcake.
Lite-brite: The signs of the season are all around us. All you have to do is get in your car and drive around to see creative Christmas light displays. Here are a few that left a gleam in our eyes:
- Pleasant Grove City trimmed its offices in lights, including lighted messages on the roofs of buildings.
- The John Deere-Northfield store, 1755 N. State, Orem, dripped strings of white lights along the eaves of its roof to look like icicles.
- The $5 charge for a drive-through tour of Spanish Fork's Festival of Lights is well worth it and a big hit, too. As of Friday, 6,100 vehicles - 37,000 people - had driven by the light show, which runs through Jan. 3.
The display of 50,000 lights is by the Spanish Oaks Golf Course on U.S. 6. The creations include a tunnel, jack-in-the-box, a toyland castle, snowman, skiers, candy canes, snowflakes and, of course, Santa and his reindeer.
- Alpine City has turned its city park into a winter wonderland. The gazebo is lighted, as is a mountain scene complete with deer. There are lighted tin soldiers, Christmas trees and Santa and his reindeer. The park's swing set and fence also are trimmed with lights.