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Show ft C6 Wednesday, January 24, 1996 The Daily Herald Single and 50: the life of the unattached The age of 50 seems to represent a sort of tollgate beyond which, having chosen the route and the traveling companions, one expects to be on the same road for a long, long time. Thus people who find themselves approaching 50 unattached either divorced or never married are particularly prone to playing out a perpetual middlescence. Even if they are certain they don't want to be tied down to marriage, there is at least some ambivalence about traveling alone jiLh Gail New AvV Passages through the unmarked second half of life. This is particularly true of men, I find. Every Friday night a group of unattached Seattle men between 40 and 50 gets together at a waterfront fish house (the location and identities of the men have been disguised, but all of their substantive comments are verbatim). These are businessmen who wolf down The Wall Street Journal with jelly doughnuts for breakfast. By day they compare the latest gear they bought for skiing or kayaking. They boast about the vacations they take and about the women they make, or lie about those they don't. But at 5 p.m., or 6 or 7 if they work late, they are painfully reminded of the one thing they don't have: a real home to go home to. "Even though one of us sits behind a judge's robe, and another one is powerful enough to take the middle of the day olY to fly down to L.A. and date a movie star, we share a secret," said Simon, a magazine publisher. "Each one of us knows that the others are a little screwed up, too." These men are on their own. Their former wives are catching up on careers; their children are k scattered. hours are the crudest. The weeknight hours between 5 and 9, once reserved for the wife and children within a traditional marriage and family, are After-wor- now an intimacy void. To nullify the emptiness, these men spend several nights a week at the health club. Still, that leaves Friday night The biggest risk for these unattached men at this stage in their lives is that a woman will reject them and that the whole aura of success and cocksure confidence they've built up might crumble. Their careers no longer pose any real risk. When they w?re younger, the thrill was in the game, the pride and purpose of bringing home the bacon for their families. Now there's no one home to cook it. Going out to restaug rants, even with a the same isn't date, thing. "It's like a lion in the jungle," Simon theorizes. "If you bring the food to him, he's not a lion anygood-lookin- more." The men study their menus and give their orders. Soon the conversation drifts back to the same obsession: Is anyone even close to finding a decent woman to marry? "They're all a little goofy, these women today," one of the men says. "Goofy" is the group's word for the things about contempostand can't they rary women: They're aggressive, they like control, they make their own money, and they're just as likely to be sexual predators as a se man. "I took out this gorgeous chick the other night," says a businessman. "But something turned me off she was wearing aftershave." "Who are we kidding?" Simon blurts. "We need them, but they scare the hell out of us. Finding fault with every one of them is just a way to find an excuse not to make a commitment." The one attached man in the group blots his lips after a big meal. "Well, hell, I'm on my third marriage, and you know what? It's a relief." This man appears disgustingly happy. The others all look upon him with naked envy. By PAUL NOWELL Associated Press Writer The voice CONCORD, N.C. could cut through sheet metal high-pitche- J H and twangy, a mad- d "Call me if I can help," he2; implores. "It doesn't last that long When I went to school, school was' -s ) cool!" price had no idea how he had become until a friend asked ; him to take a walk through dowri-- i I town Concord. "He brought me into about 15 different businesses in town," he ; said. "He would say, 'Do you; know who this is? It's The Lunch Menu Man." They all knew The Lunch MenR-Man- ; the legend had taken hold.;; Since then, he's been featured: ' on radio programs from Texas Rhode Island. He was featured on'' cap mixture of a coon dog's howl and a TV preacher's rantings. "TREA-SURof the OCEAN NOO-dl- e TUN-- a that's ... CASSEROLLLLE! ... or PIZZA! of PIZZA! PIZZA! ... KER-nel- s E CORN ... warm, spiced CHER-RRRIE- S VEG-gi- e ... CRUN-ch- y BITES ... and a ROLLLLL!" This is the menu for Monday, Jan. 8, 1996, for the Charlotte-Mecklenbuschools, courtesy of the one and only Lunch Menu Man David Price, a former car salesman who has parlayed a brief weekly phone message into a peculiar fame. The Lunch Menu Man can be heard on radio stations across the country. He has appeared on a national TV talk show and cut his first album. He's even done a couple of commercials. It's hard to fathom all that has happened to Price since September, when he left his job of 10 years selling cars to take a job in the advertising department at the Concord Tribune. He had always wanted to be a country singer, but did not view his new position as a ticket to fame and fortune. "I wanted," Price said, "to spend more time with my girls" wife Cathie and daughters, Maria, 3, and Kara, 2. One of Price's first duties at the newspaper was to record the weekly lunch menu for Cabarrus County Schools for a call-i- n line. "It was kind of dull doing the same thing every time," Price, 33, said in an interview. "I figured, 'No one's listening anyway, so let's joke around a little.' " to; rg CBS-TV- f''i IMiJlli r , " - .,; - Bin flii ii mmi ii null AP Photo David Price, known as the Lunch Menu Man, center, clowns with students at Greenway Park Elementary School in Charlotte, N.C. Price became a celebrity He noticed that nearly every day's menu seemed to end with fruit and a roll. "By Thursday, I was doing it, 'FRUUUIIITT ... and a ROLLLL!' " Price said, his eyes twinkling. When Cathie heard the tape, she worried that he could be fired. "I said, 'Nah, let's leave it,' " Price said. Soon, the Tribune's switchboard was swamped with calls for the lunch menu line. There were "This issue will go beyond labor and delivery," says Karen Morin, one of the researchers. "It will become an issue across the how male nursing stuboard dents are educated, how hospitals hire nurses, and how staff rotations are made." Newspapers you as much as six figures annually? Consider becoming a skycap. Though the job pays minimum wage, $5, $10 and even $20 tips can boost a skycap's yearly take to more than $100,000, the Wall Street Journal and National Business Employment Weekly report. A WOMAN'S WORLD? Some of you new mothers don't want to be attended in the maternity ward by male nurses or male student nurses. That's according to a study by two Widener University nursing school professors. after his humorous taped versions of weekly school lunch menus were broadcast by radio stations across the country. 200 calls in September, 5,000 calls in October and 35,000 calls in November. As a point of reference, the Tribune has a circulation of just 13,200. Then, several radio stations in and around Charlotte heard about him, and began to play Price's recitations of school lunch fare. The Lunch Menu Man was ready for the big time. He left his job and went on to declaim the lunch menu for the state's largest school district on The Charlotte Observer's information line. LICK-i- n "CHlCK-e- n or ... with KET-chu- p ... a dinner ROLLLL ... NUG-get- s SAUCE mashed POTATOES ...broccoli-woccoli- ? and FRUUUIIITT." The Lunch Menu Man precedes Jell-- 0 his bread-and-butt- recitations er with exhortations against dropping out of school, and offers to visit classrooms so he can spread that message. STACKED-U- P FAX: Doesn't it just tick you off when you want to fax something, or are waiting for a fax, but the machine's tied up because someone is sending you dozens of pages of something you may or may not want? What's needed is a little electronic etiquette: If you need to fax more than a few pages, call ahead so that you may send them at a time convenient to the recipient, says the Five O'clock News, a publication of the Five O'Clock d Club for "busy, people." THE COMFORT PHONE: In its new catalog, Hello Direct, which sells "telephone productivity tools," offers some items intended to improve your mental and physical comfort on the phone. SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS: If you want to boost your store's flagging sales, consider scenting the air. idea of group therapy, but I can't afford a psychiatrist. Can you give me any advice? I would be more Dear Ann Landers: Two years ago, my mother died of cancer. She was suffering a lot toward the end, but I never left her side. We shared more than a mother-daughtrelationship. Mom was my best friend. I never had a problem she couldn't solve. Growing up, we moved a lot because of Dad's work. This was hard on me, er Hint f especially when I got to high school, but one thing always Mom and remained the same me. We had each other. Now she is gone, and I'm lost. I'm now 22 and currently in a relationship with a man who is abusive, but I stay because I'm afraid of being alone. I have problems sleeping, and when I do sleep, I have terrible nightmares about Mom. I cry a lot for no reason. I'm often depressed and don't have much of an appetite. I have shut everyone out of my life except my family. I have said "no" to my friends so often they have quit call- Landers One is a lighted sign for your office that says "busy," so no one will bother you when you're using a headset phone. Or, if you like, a "busy" sign you can just flick on anytime. A study by marketing professors at Drake University and Washington State University found that shoppers breathing in air scented with lemon, orange, pep- permint or spearmint liked the store better than one with unscent-e- d air. The consumers also believed that the merchandise sold in a scented environment was of a better quality than goods in unscented air. tion and Recovery, Inc. Twenty-tw- o is awfully young to give up on life. Good luck and God bless. Dear Ann Landers: Here is one more "name" story for you. Meanwhile, perhaps you can help solve a mystery for me and my family. My grandmother was born on Aug. 4, 1898. My Nickolaus Mueller, was paid $10 by the mayor of Minneapolis to name the child Manila Philap-inAs I was growing up, I was told that something happened on that date in the Philippines that caused the mayor (I don't know his name) to offer this cash award which I'm sure was quite an incentive back then. Can you fill in the missing blanks for me? When 1 was very young, I called her "Grandma Vanilla." Everyone thought it was very cute. I'm happy to report she is doing well and is now a charming 97 year s old. K.C., Buffalo, Minn. great-grandfath- grateful than you will ever know. J.E. in Georgia Dear J.E.: It sounds to me as if you are on the ragged edge, dangerously near a nervous breakdown. I urge you to ask your family doctor at once to prescribe medication to help you sleep and something to enhance your appetite. Sleep deprivation can lead and to all sorts of problems. You need psychiatric help. If you can't afford it, group therapy is a viable option. Even if you don't like the idea, don't write it off. There IS help for you, and I hope you will get it. Please look into The Family Service Associa ing me. I want to be happy again and go out the way I used to, but I can't seem to pull myself together no matter how hard I try. The few people around me constantly worry about me and keep asking if I'm OK. I want to get help, but I don't know where to go. I don't like the under-nourishme- nt Dear K.C.: According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, in 1898, Spain gave the Philippines to the United States as part of the treaty at the end of the Spanish-Am- War. erican If anyone in Minneapolis can nil in the missing pieces, please by Cathy Guisewite cathy OH, ( RIGHT... 8 I HA, HA f Hi UAt AMD HERE'S A WOO ONE ! ... let me hear from you. I'll bet somebody up there knows the whole story about Nickolaus Mueller and Manila Philapina. Pitch in, all you history buffs. You can have a ball with this one. Gem of the Day: Bad officials are elected by good people who are too lazy to vote. "TO LOSE WEIGHT, SlTlPW EAT LESS.' HA, HA, HA f frlOO. J'iSV MM1.'. bPCi, WHO WRITES THIS STUFF?.' WHY NOT UVE HflH-ED- ER AFTER, SimPLV Q MARRY A HANDSOAIE PRINCE AND RIDE OFF IN HIS HORSE-DRACA- R- RiA&E"?? "I'm ready for the big time,"! now," Price said. "So far I've' just-broke- the ice. THAT ONE f WFliFB ."WKE 15NT ABOUT ROVfllTV FlIMHW WHEN THCRE'5 charlene! A FUTURE PRINCESS IN THE ROOM. I'd like to be household name." flllf Scholarship pageant board: seeks entrants' v By CAR1N GREEN .t Special to the Herald The 1996 Miss Payson Scholarship Pageant board is seeking contestants who will vie, for the title. Any young woman who is a junior of Payson High .to, age 23 may apply. Applications, are available at the Payson High School office or library. ., A special orientation "Mother's Tea" will be held for mothers and. daughters Thursday at 3 p.m.' irt the Payson High Library. Work-- ! shops will begin shortly after in make-uinterview, presentation and the production number. The pageant will be March 16 at the Payson High Auditorium at, 7:30 p.m. The theme will be, "Stars" with a production number' to the song You Gotta Be under' direction of Debbie Ward. For more information, contact 5 or Judy Skinner at Martini Barbara director pageant son at i PAYSON p, 465-602- 465-233- 5. L llegQssope a. Advice Columnist taining. career-minde- Depressed daughter grieves over dead mother STRESS, SMPW QUIT W0RKVIM& The Lunch Menu Man even has-an agent. "We've probably heard from 30:; or 40 radio stations who want him1; on," said Andy Smith of Insight; Talent in Charlotte. "He's, the, hottest thing in town." .).; Smith is trying to entice late-- ,' night talk show hosts Dave Letter-- .; man and Jay Leno to give The-- . Lunch Menu Man a listen. And he's talking to some large-- , companies who might want am unforgettable pitchman; after all,!; while dieticians can make school j. lunches nutritious, only The Lunch . Menu Man can make them enter-- -, i Looking for a relatively easy job that can earn "TO flWNA&i "Day and Date" talk 's ' show. The Charlotte paper doesn't pay.' him for his work, so The Lunch; Menu Man is a scrabbling guy" these days. He has cut commerr cials for cars and cellular phones.i All 400 copies of his Christmas which Price recorded in, album are long gone. Another one day album is on the way. He's peddling Minimum wage job can bring in six figures annually Knight-Ridd- er re ; popular! By JEANE DIXON For Jan. 25 ARIES (March 19): Seize an opportunity to add to your holdings. A long-raninvestment program should he considered. Banking matters require prompt attention. Pay bills on lime, and avoid borrowing money now or later. y TAURUS (April 20): Turn the tables on a blue mood. Positive thinking will Concentrate on help banish small-scal- e projects; larger ventures need more research. GEMINI (May 20): Obey the rules of etiquette. Courtesy will earn respect, even from your competitors. Save your hard-earnfunds for an important venture. Attending a social event tonight could lead to an exciting new friendship. CANCER (June 2 July 22): Put your social skills to work and your popularity will reach a new high. Friends can help your business interests if you let them. Respond to your creative urges and see where they take you. LEO (July 22): A business associate is more cooperative than in the recent past. Do not speculate with other people's money. All signals are "go" in the arts and sciences. Widen your circle of friends. VIRGO (Aug. t. 22): The scales of fortune tip in your direction. Develop your leadership abilities by participating in politics. Give i needy person a helping hand. t, LIBRA (Sept. 22): A domestic situation could get out of hand if you allow your emotions to run riot. Nobody likes a control freak. Be willing to compromise An Valentine's Special! SOLAR NAILS $25 12 pries) (1st (ill 10 yr experience Mon-S- at 225-024- 3 j accounting may be necessary to stabilize you$ ' finances. SCORPIO (Oct. 21): You'aTe able to show great strength when the circumstances warrant it. Do not sacrifice your prip ciples for expediency. Blow the whistle on-S- i risky venture. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. JBI; Focus on getting your affairs in belter orden Revise a budget to fit present-da- y circumV stances. Do noi write to someone in t Travel enjoys highly favorable influence. ( CAPRICORN (Dec. 19): ;pot more oomph into the services you provide J Go that extra mile to help others. You capii buy happiness with a big bank account, bef your heart express what your mind has depitjC until now. 18): You may AQUARIUS (Jan. be too emotional now to think straight Cite yourself a chance to analyze things calmly, Friend provide helpful answers. Defue romantic quarrels before they undermins your -f ". relationship's stability. PISCES (Feb. 20): Playing fiin low the leader will not bring success. Carv out your own path to fame and fortune." FanV ily members will be highly supportive evtrvif they cannot contribute directly to you( woj! efforts. Bath Tub I HA, HA, HAS, SABLE NAILS -- me $100 LOCAL & m.m.a. 8 k :l NATIONWIDE Zi m. Asa Reflnialilniar 1-- ' With Coupons 00-5- 2 Coupon Expires 12796 ! J |
