UMATILLA, Florida – Saw it with my own eyes. The Elks, that would be the Benevolent Order of Elks, are recruiting members and advertising themselves with Yahoo banner ads. Good job. In our Bowling Alone era, most hereditary and benevolent societies are struggling, and none more struggling than what wereMORE HERE
GOOCHLAND, VA – There aren’t too many drive-ins left, but some thrive. We can think specifically of Hull’s Drive In of Lexington, Virginia, where a community comes together summer nights to watch movies in their car. Hull’s almost closed, but the community rallied round, and saved the theater. There areMORE HERE
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – In the 1970s, BOAC used firms like the architecture firm Gillespie Kidd and Coia to do its regional work. Here, an office in Glasgow. The city ticket office is almost forgotten these days, but were ubiquitous for all carriers until the mid-1980s. If you recall, BOAC wasMORE HERE
SARASOTA – Many of us can recall when IHOP wasn’t cool. Somewhere between 1980 and 1990, the chain got into the category of undesirable. It was so much so that the chain became a joke; comedienne Paula Poundstone’s “IHOP: It was a dream, I made it happen” routine about workingMORE HERE
WASHINGTON – The United States Patent and Trademark Office and the National Inventors Hall of Fame and Museum are presenting a special exhibit featuring material from Michael Jackson’s patent and trademark applications. The exhibit is free and runs through Labor Day.Mr. Jackson is the co-inventor of a “system for allowingMORE HERE
Pens are important, and so is penmanship, though I don’t have the handwriting I wish I had and wish I had taken courses with the Marion Richardson series. That being said, I do like writing by hand, and like different pens for different things. I like a fountain pen, thoughMORE HERE
Have a drink here. Watch out for tiki gods. BrandlandUSA.com is the website of business and travel writer and editor Garland Pollard. Contact him about freelance writing and editing; his personal website is at GarlandPollard.comMORE HERE
PALM SPRINGS – Any person who owns a silly little motel by the side of the road ought to look at Hope Springs Motel Resort in Palm Springs, California. It’s an utterly nondescript motel that has turned into a Travel & Leisure favorite. The recipe? A hip approach, minimalist designMORE HERE
LONDON – It’s like 1925, a Merchant and Ivory movie. On September 10, October 29, and November 14, Orient-Express will be offering “The Dinner” on The British Pullman train departing from Victoria Station in London. The cars are original, and enable travelers to take an Orient-Express train journey that’s shortMORE HERE
After a messy shutdown, the Fortunoff family as re-purchased the name and intellectual property of the Fortunoff jewelry chain. It’s in Newsday. Would that other families did the same thing after their family names were dragged through the mud by inexperienced private capital. The Tai Chi basketball shoe is back.MORE HERE