Summer vacation is nearing its end for school children, teachers, and others who are fortunate enough to still have summer vacation. The end is particularly nigh in my part of the world, where schools will be back in session next week. A little early for my taste, but then, the classroom wasn't always my favorite place in the world.*
While the big break is nearing its end for the education world, it has reached its conclusion in the ZiggyBackRide world. After a long hiatus from writing on this site, the whole staff is back on the job, ready to fill you in on much that has happened in recent weeks and preparing to be your guide on the exciting journey that the remainder of 2008 is shaping up to be. The Olympic Games began today, a new college football season starts in three weeks, and Presidential campaign season is beginning in earnest. All of these are topics this blog has addressed in the past and these, among others, shall be covered as only ZiggyBackRide can cover them in the months to come.
Now, what have we missed in the time since ZBR's last stop?
In recent days, Morgan Freeman was involved in a serious accident that left him in critical condition in a Memphis hospital. The world-renowned actor and voiceover artist was driving a 1997 Nissan Maxima at the time of the crash. If you had been asked to guess what kind of car this entertainment superstar was driving, how many guesses would you say you'd have needed to land on 1997 Nissan Maxima? I would have needed at least 4!
Other Morgan Freeman accident-related facts that the staff here can now confirm are as follows:
- Morgan Freeman is well on the road to recovery and has been released from the hospital.
- Asked about his immediate plans as he left the hospital, Freeman mentioned that he had decided to "...get busy livin', rather than get busy dyin'." He added a note of sincere gratitude to the medical staff for what he called "a common thread of exceptional care."**
- The lady in the car with Mr. Freeman at the time of the accident was not, as popular conjecture originally held, Miss Daisy.
- Hospital staff have reported that Freeman, though fully anesthetized, narrated his entire surgery, offering up helpful and soothing commentary at every turn.***
We'll certainly keep you updated on any further developments. Check back soon for stunning news regarding Me and My Purple Car, my season in Jewish softball, comedy fun, and more.
* The classroom was never my favorite place in the world. Though I have always enjoyed learning, I would have been happy if school had started sometime after Easter... if it had to start at all.
** quotes based upon Freeman's lines in The Shawshank Redemption and commercials for LeBonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, respectively.
*** See post . Though I joke, I'm glad he's doing better!
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Friday, August 08, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Love My Maw, Love My Paw...
But I just love ol' Arkansas (Mississippi and Louisiana, too)!
4 days
3 great shows in
3 synagogues in
3 states...
Michael "Ziggy" Danziger's Deep South Jewish Comedy Road Trip '08 (or the MZDDSJCRT08, for short) has come and gone, and was a lot of fun. The audiences were great in all three cities, I got to see a lot of friends, ate incredible baked goods at Ambrosia bakery in Hot Springs, was called Kathy Lee Griffith* by a gas station attendant in Arkansas, hurriedly ate Mexican food - which I was certain I would regurgitate during that evening's show - with the temple youth group in Jackson, MS, and recommended - in the course of my shows - that all three congregations consider offering anus perfume as a Purim carnival prize in the future. Needless to say, this was a fantastic experience!
I drove a rental car - provided by the institution that organized this little tour** - rather than my purple car, now well-known from the "Me and My Purple Car" series on this very site. The rental - a Chevy Malibu - had all sorts of features that my distinguished older vehicle does not. The one that got much of my attention was the real-time miles-per-gallon notifier. Watching the effect of every press of the pedals on the gas mileage was absolutely fascinating. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Unfortunately, it was not located on the road, where my eyes should have been! I'm lucky to tell the tale. In this epoch of ultimate concern over fuel economy, it was interesting and every driver would probably benefit from seeing how various driving habits affect what we can get out of each tank. However, if you get caught up in numbers as I do***, you might want to avoid this feature for safety's sake.
I'm tired. More later.
* The attendant, either crazy or bored, kept calling me different names at the end of each sentence. Most were men's names and most were just a first name. Then came Kathy Lee Griffith, which was, perhaps, supposed to be Kathy Lee Gifford or, possibly, Kathy Griffin. Or maybe she meant just what she said.
** The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life was responsible for organizing the MZDDSJCRT08.
*** For instance, I drove 1320 miles over the course of four days. At that rate, I would drive 120,450 miles in a normal year; 120,780 in this leap year.
4 days
3 great shows in
3 synagogues in
3 states...
Michael "Ziggy" Danziger's Deep South Jewish Comedy Road Trip '08 (or the MZDDSJCRT08, for short) has come and gone, and was a lot of fun. The audiences were great in all three cities, I got to see a lot of friends, ate incredible baked goods at Ambrosia bakery in Hot Springs, was called Kathy Lee Griffith* by a gas station attendant in Arkansas, hurriedly ate Mexican food - which I was certain I would regurgitate during that evening's show - with the temple youth group in Jackson, MS, and recommended - in the course of my shows - that all three congregations consider offering anus perfume as a Purim carnival prize in the future. Needless to say, this was a fantastic experience!
I drove a rental car - provided by the institution that organized this little tour** - rather than my purple car, now well-known from the "Me and My Purple Car" series on this very site. The rental - a Chevy Malibu - had all sorts of features that my distinguished older vehicle does not. The one that got much of my attention was the real-time miles-per-gallon notifier. Watching the effect of every press of the pedals on the gas mileage was absolutely fascinating. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Unfortunately, it was not located on the road, where my eyes should have been! I'm lucky to tell the tale. In this epoch of ultimate concern over fuel economy, it was interesting and every driver would probably benefit from seeing how various driving habits affect what we can get out of each tank. However, if you get caught up in numbers as I do***, you might want to avoid this feature for safety's sake.
I'm tired. More later.
* The attendant, either crazy or bored, kept calling me different names at the end of each sentence. Most were men's names and most were just a first name. Then came Kathy Lee Griffith, which was, perhaps, supposed to be Kathy Lee Gifford or, possibly, Kathy Griffin. Or maybe she meant just what she said.
** The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life was responsible for organizing the MZDDSJCRT08.
*** For instance, I drove 1320 miles over the course of four days. At that rate, I would drive 120,450 miles in a normal year; 120,780 in this leap year.
Saturday, October 18, 2003
Commercial Literacy
I am a pretty well-educated person and, beyond the books, consider myself intelligent, with-it, and at least basically literate in most areas of common knowledge. Now, however, I find myself in an awkward place, having my faith in my own general cunningness being tested by... television commercials. That's right, commercials have pushed me to the limits of what is known to me.
What is a hemi? Do I have to drive a truck or a souped up old sports car to know? I'm sure it has something to do with an engine because in the commercials, two trucks pull up to a stoplight (usually somewhere in the desert where there doesn't even seem to be an intersecting road) and one driver leans out the window and asks his neighbor, "That thing got a hemi?" The neighbor counters with some sort of smug "well of course I have a hemi" answer and promptly leaves the questioner in the dust as the light turns green. It's very impressive. I want a hemi. Until I have one though, I can assure you that I won't be engaging in any conversations with my stop light neighbors!
What is a hemi? Do I have to drive a truck or a souped up old sports car to know? I'm sure it has something to do with an engine because in the commercials, two trucks pull up to a stoplight (usually somewhere in the desert where there doesn't even seem to be an intersecting road) and one driver leans out the window and asks his neighbor, "That thing got a hemi?" The neighbor counters with some sort of smug "well of course I have a hemi" answer and promptly leaves the questioner in the dust as the light turns green. It's very impressive. I want a hemi. Until I have one though, I can assure you that I won't be engaging in any conversations with my stop light neighbors!
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