I'M PRETTY EXCITED because I received an offer in the mail from Sunset Magazine to receive 12 issues for a measley $11 or $21 for 24 issues - their "special reception room rate." They said, "Your clients will enjoy Sunset in your reception room and with this special professional discount - you will, too!" I've already written out a check, but I'm still looking for my reception room.
- If you're worried about any of the candidates running for local political office, look at the governor's race in Colorado and feel comforted.Bruce Benson, a Republican oil magnate, is challenging Democratic Governor Roy Romer. Benson is no ordinary candidate. He admitted to having been arrested twice for drunken driving in the early 1980s. But that's only a small item beside his messy divorce.
His divorce records, made public by a Denver TV station, disclosed that Benson had told his son that he was "going to kill" his former wife, Nancy Benson. Nancy Benson said that Benson had "harassed, taunted and threatened" her. The records say Benson admitted to having carried on an affair for two years before the divorce last year.
But then what can you expect from a man who contributed $1,000 to the legal defense of Senator Bob Packwood?
- I wrote recently about the controversy over whether Elvis Presley actually died or not. Now there is a group dedicated to a much more exciting enterprise - convincing the Vatican to canonize him.
According to a founder of the group, "Elvis affected people in ways that were more than mortal, he was blessed by God. We are hoping that by gathering thousands of personal stories and endorsements we can get the Vatican's attention and give Elvis the ultimate tribute."
He invites anyone who shares this view to send a letter giving reasons for honoring Elvis to "Elvis for Sainthood, P.O. Box 58695, St. Louis, MO 63158-0095. All letters will be gathered and submitted to Rome for review.
It may be a long shot.
- Even as U.N. peacekeeping forces are trying to broker a cease-fire in Abkhazia, this tiny province of the former Soviet Union has found a way to poke fun at their former Russian occupiers by creating what many collectors think is the most clever commemorative postage stamps ever issued.
As their first official stamp release, postal authorities in this breakaway province have just issued two legal tender postage stamps commemorating a "Lenin" and "Marx" not generally associated with Russian history - but rather with peace and laughter - John Lennon and Groucho Marx.
Each of the stamps is about 4 times the size of a regular U.S. postage stamp, and is set within a large and colorful souvenir sheet. Each stamp has a face value of 500 rubles.
The stamps are legal for postage in Abkhazia and have been issued in a Limited Edition of just 10,000 sets worldwide. They are genuine collector's items. You can get them for a short time at their original issue price of $8.72 (plus $3 postage and handling).
The most you can buy is 6 sets. Just contact The International Collectors Society, 10045 Red Run Blvd., Suite 170PL, Owings Mills, MD 21117, or call toll free 1-800-624-4427.
- I can't believe that Gary Larson, my favorite cartoonist, is hanging it up. For 15 years I have been thrusting various "Far Side" cartoons in the faces of family and friends. While on an LDS mission, my oldest son filled an entire Franklin planner with "Far Side" cartoons I sent him.
My most recent favorite was a snake family visiting another snake family and saying, "My goodness, the children are getting so LONG!"
So long, Gary!