TOP DRAWER INK NEWSLETTER

 

Here's the latest issue of Top Drawer Ink, the newsletter written by author HL Carpenter that's chock full of humor and common sense information.

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September 2, 2006
Volume 4, Number 17
ISSN 1554-6330

In this issue:

1. Carpenter Country
2. Top Drawer Article
3. Top Drawer Tips
4. Top Drawer Book Review
5. Top Drawer Satire

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CARPENTER COUNTRY
What's Happening in Our Neck of the Human Experience

 

Here’s a Carpenter Country certainty: Perseverance pays off.

We were reminded of that truism just this week, when a well-known museum advertised an exhibit that sounded interesting. We picked a date, equipped ourselves with a printout of directions and prices from the museum’s web site, jumped in the car and headed south.

After a traffic-filled ride on the Interstate that included a missed exit, we arrived at our destination. Two slow trips around the crowded parking lot finally led to an empty slot.

A quick trek through an arcade jammed with teens in the throes of noisy enjoyment brought us to the ticket counter – and the admission fees.

Whoa! What happened to the web site pricing? The charge displayed was almost double the amount that had been advertised.

We asked about the special rate anyway, only to be told there was no chance of getting into the exhibit unless we bought the whole tour, or waited until 5:00 P.M.

Like rational decision makers, we headed back to the car.

There we discovered the computer printout. We retraced our steps, presented our information and asked nicely if it could be honored.

After some hemming, hawing and fiddling, the ticket agent handed over passes that would admit us to the exhibit we wanted to see, at only two dollars more than we’d expected to pay.

Okay!

Grabbing our prize, we hurried through the doors and spent two fascinating hours looking, listening and learning about the human body.

We emerged educated and awed by an experience we might have missed, if not for a little persistence. Hmmm, wonder what cliche we should set our sights on next?

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TOP DRAWER ARTICLE

Another Side of Social Security
by
HL Carpenter

 

When you think about Social Security what comes to mind?

For many the answer might be economic assistance. But since its inception Social Security has evolved into much more.

Read the entire article here

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TOP DRAWER TIPS
Topics and Tidbits

 

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TOP DRAWER BOOK REVIEW

by
HL Carpenter

 

The Art of Civilized Conversation
by Margaret Shepherd
ISBN 0-7679-2169-0
228 pages; hardcover; $16.00
Broadway Books, New York, 2005

“Flee not from conversation,” Ovid said, in The Art of Love, written in 1 BCE. Is that your motto? Or do you dash off e-mails, multi-task while listening with half an ear and engage in wave-and-grin greetings with co-workers and employees? In other words, are you fleeing from conversation without actually running?

Read the entire review here

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TOP DRAWER SATIRE

Old News
by
HL Carpenter

 

The amount of news bombarding audiences on a daily basis seems overwhelming. But according to an internal memorandum inadvertently released by a major media company, the clutter is an illusion. That’s because there is no new news.

Read the rest here