By Eric W. Schoen
Continuing in our politics-free zone… Have you heard that the animals on the box of Nabisco Animal Crackers have been freed from their cages? Campaigns by animal rights organizations over the years complaining that the animals on the box were still caged and mistreatment of animals by circuses sort of forced Nabisco’s parent company to “let them go.”
We have all heard, at least for the last several days, child actress Shirley Temple singing “Animal Crackers in my Soup,” which got me to thinking: Why would someone put sweet animal crackers in soup? Were animal crackers ever not the sweet little crackers in the little red boxes I enjoyed as a child and, at one point, similar to the unsweetened soup and oyster crackers many people – including this writer (and his beloved grandfather) – put in their soup?
I researched the topic and was not able to find savory animal crackers. Maybe to a child, sweet animal crackers in, let’s say, chicken noodle soup might taste good. For your information, the animals in the current box of Nabisco Animal Crackers are bear, bison, camel, cougar, elephant, giraffe, gorilla, hippopotamus, hyena, kangaroo, lion, monkey, rhinoceros, seal, sheep and tiger.
And the string on the top of the box, which was to allow the boxes to hang from Christmas trees, has been replaced by a handle.
New Cups at Starbucks, Straw-Free
If you have visited your local Starbucks recently, your iced drink might have been served in the newly designed cup, which is a “sippy” cup similar to the hot cups. These are to encourage patrons to not use a straw, which can do harm to the environment. It got me wondering: The plastic cups that cold drinks are served in would seem to do more damage to the environment than the plastic straws.
I asked my favorite barista what’s up; apparently the cups are biodegradable but the straws are not. So, why not make the straws out of the same material as the cups? Or why not serve paper straws with iced beverages? Many people like to sip their hot beverages with a straw. You can’t do that with a plastic straw, but you could with a paper straw.
Someone got paid a lot of money to come up with the newly designed cold drink cups that have the new lids. Speaking of lids, particularly with hot coffee, do me a favor and after you have added your condiments, make sure the lid is on tight. Just the other day I was entering Starbucks and a customer laden with drinks and food items hadn’t put the lid on tight and the hot coffee spilled all over her hand as she opened the door to exit the store.
Fortunately she was not injured, but whether it’s McDonald’s or Starbucks, the hot coffee is hot!
Dogs From Animal Shelters Comfort Individuals Paying Taxes
Most people pay their real property taxes either electronically or through the mail, and there are some who still like to go to City Hall and pay their taxes in person. Working in City Hall as I did for many years, I could never understand this. You pull into the government center garage, work your way to the top (quite often all the parking spaces are full so you have to drive around wasting gas), and after you pay your taxes you pay a fee for parking. I’ll get to the fee in a minute…
The latest thing in paying taxes? Having dogs at or near the payment window to comfort you when you pay that big bill for municipal services that you and your family never use. The dogs are from animal shelters, so the hope is the dog will calm you after paying the exorbitant tax bill and you will take Fido home to be a permanent member of your family.
Good idea! Here’s another one: Give people coming to City Hall to pay their taxes a free 15 to 30 minute of parking in the government center garage. It’s bad enough the tax bill is so high – lessen the burden with free parking while you pay your dues for living in the city of gracious living!
It’s 2018!
There was an article in the Journal News of a (one, single) patron complaining that the Will Library is doing away with hard-copy reference books to make way for more patron seating and workspaces.
It’s summertime, a slow time for journalists always in need of a story…
The library director points out that the library was long overdue in reassessing its reference services. Anything of popular interest was added to the circulating collection. The materials in question were not “thrown,” away but donated to a service that ships the materials to countries and placed where they have no reference resources.
We, however, have computers with reference sources that can be updated by their publishers when new information comes in and/or the world changes. And believe me, if your computer skills are not the greatest, the librarians have the patience of angels and will take the time to help you find what you need.
Who needs out-of-date information in bulky books when the digital age allows you to have the most up-to-date information, as well as historical data at your fingertips?
Yonkers Schools Late Finishing School Rehab
Newspaper articles and radio reports are blasting the news that the summer rehabilitation work going in the Yonkers Public Schools is behind schedule and won’t be finished before school opens.
The bottom line is that a lot of the work being done was neglected for decades due to lack of funding. The two-month summer break might seem like a long time, but just think of how long it can take to renovate your home. School renovations on buildings more than 80 years old are a lot more complex than renovating your home, and things like weather and material availability come into play big time.
Rest assured that no Yonkers Public Schools administrator will let your child learn in an unsafe environment. Join the Parent-Teacher-Student Association, visit your child’s school, and get involved if you want to know what is going on. Start your queries at the school level but rest assured that all the way up to the superintendent, safety is everyone’s priority!
R-E-S-P-E-C-T… R.I.P., Aretha Franklin.
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers and listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show on Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on WVOX 1460 AM or download the Simple Radio app for free from the App Store.
