As the country bows its collective head and takes a moment to contemplate the possible impending doom that their beloved Twinkies may be facing, I am continuing my month-long series on things I am thankful for. This week I am thankful that I am not a greedy, confection junkie living in a tent in the Best Buy parking lot. Perhaps I should explain.
During this week of giving thanks, I have only been hearing about two things: Twinkies and Black Friday. Call me un-American, but I could care less about either one of those things. I do, however, find it fascinating that so many people do care. So just for fun, I decided to examine these two groups of people and see how they might be connected.
Let's begin with the Twinkie history. The Twinkie has been around since 1930 and has been the hit of the Hostess Company, which also produces Wonder Bread, Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs, and Fruit Pies. All of which are non-food products whose ingredient list reads like a chemical experiment gone horribly wrong. Know why the Twinkies are so spongy and greasy when you open them? They are petroleum-based products. Yummy.
Yet it is the Twinkie that has so captivated the American public. In fact, Americans are so addicted to the Twinkie they were flying off shelves over the past weekend and were immediately going for upwards of $99.99 on eBay at the height of the Twinkie-pocalypse last weekend.
There are some pretty unhappy Twinkie addicts out there right now since the furor has died down and the Twinkies might live. You can now get a box of Twinkies on eBay for as little as $5. Although, I did see that one enterprising entrepreneur had listed a box for $1 million. Nice try! That's the American spirit!
Let's turn now to Black Friday.
As early as a week before Thanksgiving, tents were appearing outside Best Buy stores across the country. Apparently the "best buys" are at Best Buy this year for Black Friday. However, the sale doesn't start until midnight on Thanksgiving night. The campers do this so they can be first in line to score a new television or some other very important electronic device for a bargain price.
I have to wonder, wouldn't they be better off going to work for a week before Christmas then buying a television outright with the money they earn? Also, I wonder how they can afford a television at all after spending all that money on Twinkies, because I'm pretty sure the ones camping out are probably the same ones who felt the need to purchase a large supply of the greasy confections for hundreds of dollars. It just stands to reason; I see a similarity in the reasoning of both groups of people. I'm guessing they are one in the same. At least we know the campers will have something to eat on Thanksgiving.
Me, however, I will not be sitting in a tent in a Best Buy parking lot eating Twinkies on Thanksgiving Day. And for this I am truly thankful.
- Rebecca Todd is a freelance writer and the author of the book What's the Point, available at booklocker.com. Contact her at btodd@tds.net.
I am writing this letter to thank and to acknowledge the great and swift job that the Wayne Township Fire Department did, as well as the ambulance, in responding to a medical emergency in our household on May 15.
It is worth mentioning that more Americans were killed by the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11, than were killed by the recent terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon.
I hate dog movies. In dog movies, the good, loyal, lovable dog always dies at the end and I end up sitting there in the dark with big tears streaming down my cheeks.
I’ve not kept it a secret that I find people who dress their dogs in clothes to be, to put it nicely, somewhat more than just eccentric. And many friendly, helpful readers out there have not kept it a secret that they really wish I would not express my views about dogs dressed as humans.
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
It sounds like the plot from a dystopian libertarian novel. The word “patriot” and the phrase “educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights” triggered heightened scrutiny from the most intrusive agency in the federal government.
The action at the bird feeder has been spectacular lately: Cardinals, finches, songbirds in impressive variety crowding around all day long in search of sustenance. It is truly gratifying …
An NPR broadcast examines the question of how communities can better prepare for tornadoes like the one that struck Moore, Okla. on Monday. The broadcast features commentary from Michael Fitzgerald, who reported a five-part disaster series for the CNHI News Service.
Shayla Taylor was so far along in labor that her nurses at Moore Medical Center decided not to move her when Monday's tornado hit. They waited out the storm in an operating room, where the wall disappeared as the tornado hit the building.
An NPR broadcast examines the question of how communities can better prepare for tornadoes like the one that struck Moore, Okla. on Monday. The broadcast features commentary from Michael Fitzgerald, who reported a five-part disaster series for the CNHI News Service.
Commentary
Discussion
Buyers beware of bargains
By Rebecca Todd CNHI
As the country bows its collective head and takes a moment to contemplate the possible impending doom that their beloved Twinkies may be facing, I am continuing my month-long series on things I am thankful for. This week I am thankful that I am not a greedy, confection junkie living in a tent in the Best Buy parking lot. Perhaps I should explain.
During this week of giving thanks, I have only been hearing about two things: Twinkies and Black Friday. Call me un-American, but I could care less about either one of those things. I do, however, find it fascinating that so many people do care. So just for fun, I decided to examine these two groups of people and see how they might be connected.
Let's begin with the Twinkie history. The Twinkie has been around since 1930 and has been the hit of the Hostess Company, which also produces Wonder Bread, Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs, and Fruit Pies. All of which are non-food products whose ingredient list reads like a chemical experiment gone horribly wrong. Know why the Twinkies are so spongy and greasy when you open them? They are petroleum-based products. Yummy.
Yet it is the Twinkie that has so captivated the American public. In fact, Americans are so addicted to the Twinkie they were flying off shelves over the past weekend and were immediately going for upwards of $99.99 on eBay at the height of the Twinkie-pocalypse last weekend.
There are some pretty unhappy Twinkie addicts out there right now since the furor has died down and the Twinkies might live. You can now get a box of Twinkies on eBay for as little as $5. Although, I did see that one enterprising entrepreneur had listed a box for $1 million. Nice try! That's the American spirit!
Let's turn now to Black Friday.
As early as a week before Thanksgiving, tents were appearing outside Best Buy stores across the country. Apparently the "best buys" are at Best Buy this year for Black Friday. However, the sale doesn't start until midnight on Thanksgiving night. The campers do this so they can be first in line to score a new television or some other very important electronic device for a bargain price.
I have to wonder, wouldn't they be better off going to work for a week before Christmas then buying a television outright with the money they earn? Also, I wonder how they can afford a television at all after spending all that money on Twinkies, because I'm pretty sure the ones camping out are probably the same ones who felt the need to purchase a large supply of the greasy confections for hundreds of dollars. It just stands to reason; I see a similarity in the reasoning of both groups of people. I'm guessing they are one in the same. At least we know the campers will have something to eat on Thanksgiving.
Me, however, I will not be sitting in a tent in a Best Buy parking lot eating Twinkies on Thanksgiving Day. And for this I am truly thankful.
- Rebecca Todd is a freelance writer and the author of the book What's the Point, available at booklocker.com. Contact her at btodd@tds.net.
I am writing this letter to thank and to acknowledge the great and swift job that the Wayne Township Fire Department did, as well as the ambulance, in responding to a medical emergency in our household on May 15.
May 23, 2013
It is worth mentioning that more Americans were killed by the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11, than were killed by the recent terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon.
May 23, 2013
I hate dog movies. In dog movies, the good, loyal, lovable dog always dies at the end and I end up sitting there in the dark with big tears streaming down my cheeks.
May 21, 2013
Mr. President, the buck stops with you.
President Truman set that standard, with these very words posted on a sign on his Oval Office desk.
But now, with over a thousand days left in this second Obama administration, we find a Nixonian stench emerging from the “W. House.”
May 21, 2013
Rarely has the White House briefing room so resembled the main ballroom at a meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
May 21, 2013
I’ve not kept it a secret that I find people who dress their dogs in clothes to be, to put it nicely, somewhat more than just eccentric. And many friendly, helpful readers out there have not kept it a secret that they really wish I would not express my views about dogs dressed as humans.
May 17, 2013
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
May 17, 2013
The federal government recently announced new regulations for buying fast food.
May 17, 2013
It sounds like the plot from a dystopian libertarian novel. The word “patriot” and the phrase “educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights” triggered heightened scrutiny from the most intrusive agency in the federal government.
May 17, 2013
The action at the bird feeder has been spectacular lately: Cardinals, finches, songbirds in impressive variety crowding around all day long in search of sustenance. It is truly gratifying …
For my neighbor.
That’s what it’s like at his feeder.
May 14, 2013
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Beauty Salons
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An NPR broadcast examines the question of how communities can better prepare for tornadoes like the one that struck Moore, Okla. on Monday. The broadcast features commentary from Michael Fitzgerald, who reported a five-part disaster series for the CNHI News Service.
May 22, 2013 1 Photo
Complete Report:
Part I: Are We Prepared? | Part II: Disaster Dollars
Part III: Lessons Learned | Part IV: Warning Signs
Part V: The Big One
Shayla Taylor was so far along in labor that her nurses at Moore Medical Center decided not to move her when Monday's tornado hit. They waited out the storm in an operating room, where the wall disappeared as the tornado hit the building.
May 23, 2013 1 Photo
An NPR broadcast examines the question of how communities can better prepare for tornadoes like the one that struck Moore, Okla. on Monday. The broadcast features commentary from Michael Fitzgerald, who reported a five-part disaster series for the CNHI News Service.
May 22, 2013 1 Photo
Complete Report:
Part I: Are We Prepared? | Part II: Disaster Dollars
Part III: Lessons Learned | Part IV: Warning Signs
Part V: The Big One
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