Archive for January, 2011

The Plain City Lions Club recently presented the Plain City American Legion Post 248 with a $600 check that will be used to sponsor students to attend the Buckeye Boys and Girls State in 2011. Lions President Ben Cosgray presented the check to Doug Weakley, the Post’s Americanism Chairman. Lion Harley Bodenbender and the American Legion Post 248’s Commander Bob Baldridge were also on hand for the presentation. If you are interested in joining the Plain City Lions Club, contact Ben Cosgray. For more information on Buckeye Boys and Girls State, talk to Doug Weakley.

Buckeye Boys and Girls State were set up to educate Ohio’s young men and women about the “duties, privileges, rights, and responsibilities of good citizenship.” To find out how you can be chosen, visit the Buckeye Boys State web site or the Buckeye Girls State web site.

Just as a side note, when Joe was a Junior in high school, he was chosen by the American Legion post in Mechanicsburg to attend Buckeye Boys State. He has never forgotten the experience and met many, many nice people while he was there.

For any of you who have seen the television show, The Office, you will know instantly what I am referring to when I tell you that Joe received a “World’s Best Boss” coffee mug for Christmas. The mug, on the television series, is wielded by Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell), the often embarrassing manager of the fictitious paper company Dunder Mifflin. As viewers of the show will recall, none of the Dunder Mifflin employees actually bought the mug for Michael. Rather, he purchased it for himself and has an endless supply stored in his desk if one breaks.

Joe and I are huge fans of The Office, so I knew immediately what I had to get Joe for Christmas this year. The famous boss mug.

I showed the mug to Margie and Barb before Joe received it on Christmas day and we all laughed. Not that Joe isn’t a good boss. It’s just a bit over the top to announce it to the world in the fashion of The Office.

At least Joe didn’t have to buy it for himself like Michael Scott.

Margie’s daughter, Michaela, also likes The Office, so she got a Dunder Mifflin t-shirt from us for Christmas. It sports the Dunder Mifflin logo and the phrase, “As green as we need to be” (which I think is hilarious for a paper company). In a few years, when she is a boss herself, we may pass the torch and give her the coffee mug, too.

My nickname, from Richard “The Captain” Murray (Ann’s husband), is “The Boss.” Richard always says that everyone knows who’s really in charge in the pharmacy. So maybe, that coffee mug really belongs to ME!

January 1, 2011, would have been Paul Carpenter’s 77th birthday. When he died almost 10 years ago (has it really been that long? It seems like only yesterday), he was only 67. Too young to pass from our lives.

Joe and I only knew Paul for two years. Two years! He came into our lives when we opened the drugstore in 1999 and left too quickly on December 15, 2001. How is it possible that you can know someone for only two years and never, ever forget them; never recover from losing them?

It is possible because Paul was our own very special pharmacy angel, the greatest P.R. man ever, and more importantly, a beloved friend.

As many of you know, Paul was our delivery driver when we first opened the drugstore. His wife, Jean, worked behind the counter and since he was always hanging out with us, he decided to help out by taking deliveries each day. Paul would never take a penny for anything he did. He said it was his volunteer work and he did it with pride. Paul loved us and the pharmacy and he helped us build our business by always telling everyone he met what a great drugstore Plain City Druggist was.

We owe a huge portion of our success to Paul Carpenter.

Happy Birthday, Paul. I’d give anything to hear you shout out a hello as you strolled in the pharmacy, sporting your blue fleece “Carpy coat,” looking for “Baby Doll.”