Birds begin their warm-up exercises around 4:00 a.m.
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A determined beaver can cross an interstate highway with remarkable speed. (Thanks for that.)
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The Akron Brewing Company went about its business in a beautiful brick building.
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Dublin, Ohio, is a town with beautiful stone fences.
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Exit 303 from 80 East in Pennsylvania is the Gateway to Frustration. A roadsign advertises a seemingly non-existent Dunkin' Donuts. The McDonald's has no coffee. The re-entry to 80 East is marked by one small sign pointing the unfortunate traveler into the darkness. Minutes go by. So what does a prudent driver do? Give up and turn around to hunt for the missed re-entry, then realize that it's now necessary to turn around once more and press further into the darkness.
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"Compared to your other aftershaves, British Sterling is a lady."
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The Xlerator is an incredibly powerful hand dryer, so powerful that it moves the skin of your hand in waves. The men's room in the Wayne Public Library (New Jersey) has one. The women's room (I am told) does not.
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An anti-gravity device that could pull the moon from its orbit would be a real problem.
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Hazyblur is a small, spectacular Australian winery. (Thanks Jim and Luanne!)
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Quantum Leap is a great mostly-vegan restaurant in Greenwich Village: 226 Thompson Street, between Bleecker and Third.
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How to find a good (or great) vegan restaurant in Greenwich Village? Ask in a record store. The guy on duty is an omnivore, but "there's a girl who works here" who's vegan.
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DJ Phil Schaap's redundancies are stupefying: vibraphonist Milt Jackson got the nickname "Bags" because he was "baggy-eyed, under, of course, his eyeballs."
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Dark circles under the eyes are caused by blood leaking from capillaries and pulling down on the skin. (As stated in a radio commercial, 1010 WINS, New York.)
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India Pavilion (17 Central Square) is still going strong in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Poori (Indian bread) is more exciting than naan (another Indian bread).
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The viola d'amore has fourteen strings.
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The concert harp has forty-six or forty-seven strings.
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The dowdy world is alive and well on the airwaves of central New York. "I don't want my arms around you, no not much!" (The Four Lads.)
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Karl Bush still eats hoagies.
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There is no apostrophe in Tim Hortons.
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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comments: 10
All in all- sounds like a great time.
There's a thing called a Tom Tom, a portable GPS. I think it will change my life for the better.
The Tom Tom (and any other wise GPS system) would probably warn people not to take exit 303 from route 80 in Pennsylvania. It would say "hold out until the next exit."
Or "hold in."
I asked my husband, who goes to the Hortons more than I do, if Hortons had an apostrophe. He said it did. I then went looking for pictures on the internet and none of them had apostrophes. We were dumbfounded. So my husband actually wrote to the Hortons and asked them and he got this lovely, long explanation. I am sending it to you, as you are interested in things like apostrophes. Now we know we weren't wrong about the apostrophe - just not up to date!
(P.S. Most Canadians call it Tim's or Timmy's but I like "the Hortons" after a sketch on "This Hour has 22 Minutes" which is another story.)
"There are a number of explanations as to why the grammar has changed from Tim Horton's with an apostrophe to Tim Hortons, no apostrophe.
Ron Joyce and Tim Horton the All-Star hockey player founded Tim Hortons in 1964. In 1974 Tim Horton tragically died in a car accident.
Today, the corporate name is not a possessive of the person Tim Horton, therefore there is no apostrophe. The name of the restaurant chain is simply Tim Hortons, not Tim Horton's Donuts or Tim Horton's Restaurants.
Furthermore, the Tim Hortons chain has grown to such a vast size (more than 2900 stores in Canada and 400 in the United States), that the pluralized name reflects that size. And finally, the name Tim Hortons is spelled exactly the same in both French and English, which lessens confusion.
No matter how you spell it, Tim Hortons provides our loyal customers with coffee and fresh-baked goods that they can enjoy daily. Thank you again for
your letter, and I appreciate your comments.
Sincerely,
Susan
The TDL Group Corp.,
Operations Services Representative"
Julia, thank you for passing on this info. The idea of a pluralized person is strangely plausible — here, there, everywhere. I think though that the name is still a possessive (like, say, Wendy's). It's fun to know that the Tim Hortons people have thought these things over.
I've read that for Canadians, Tim Hortons means "civilization" — something like coming to a warm hearth in the middle of a dark night. Is there anything to that, or was someone exaggerating?
For me, this view of Timmy's is an exaggeration. It is certainly a familiar institution and they are the same across the country so it can be comforting to find one in an unfamiliar town. But I would say it is like McDonald's in that sense - comforting in its familiarity. Plus they generally have clean bathrooms and that's always a relief.
Thanks, Julia. The comparison to McDonald's instantly removes any associations with warm heaths. I hope I remember to say "the Hortons" the next time I see a Tim Hortons.
I once read that most people visiting New York will eat at the same chain restaurants that they have in their hometown. I know that sometimes a Subway is just what you need (plenty of kids in tow).
...about the GPS. My friends had one on a recent trip- found parking garages, gas stations...they raved about it. But I wonder how much fun a road trip would be without arguing over my map reading abilities, or seeing a light when you were hoping a town would appear?
I'm told that American students studying in Europe will often choose American fast food over local cuisine. Sigh.
GPS: I didn't even realize until after the fact that my Exit 303 story revealed that I'm in the dark about GPS. I can't (yet) imagine wanting to use it. I think that it would take away many possibilities of minor adventures and pleasant discoveries (though it would indeed also prevent "Exit 303" and other wrong turns).
exactly, Michael, exactly.
and I enjoy the partnership that my husband and I have as we drive and try to find the right course.
and I love maps.
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