Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – November 16, 2004

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – November 16, 2004

Out & About With The Alphabet Boys – Part 2

Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – November 16, 2004 – I’m still in the planning stages of my WebSite re-design and the addition of my second site. I’m obviously not going to get the project done this year, as I’d hoped, but I have a good start on the undertaking. I’ve been told that the old adage – “if you build it – they will come” is claptrap (what an interesting word) – so one of the critical ingredients I need to ascertain is how to get people (actually – people who want to buy and sell real estate) to my site.

I’ve always wanted the process of trading in real estate to be a serious, yet adventuresome and fun process, for my clients. When you’re about to spend a whack of money it should be enjoyable. My newsletters already have a component of humour in the “Just For Fun” section. Tasteful, politically correct, inoffensive, but tummy jiggling jokes. Since I’ve already decided to involve Augie and Ziggy in the mix, the question is how to do it right.

I can see them in my mind’s eye. It will have to be animation, unless I actually buy a convertible Mini Cooper and teach Augie to sit on his haunches and drive it. I’m betting that somehow I could actually get him a driver’s license, but that might involve fraud and forgery, and I’m not prepared to go down that path. So animation it will need to be. I’m not sure what colour the Mini should be – but I think red. Of all his bandanas Augie looks the best in his red one and his leash and collar are the same colour.

Ziggy, being a gray cat, contrasts nicely with the aforementioned colour. The top should be white and the interior a practical, durable grey upholstery. But, there is no doubt about it – their Mini needs a name. Options that come to mind include – red car – catmobile – dogcart – Mini Augie in lieu of the usual Mini Cooper. Somewhere in there lies a name. It’s finding it that’s proving to be difficult. I’m usually very good at this sort of thing but it’s had me stumped for weeks. Perhaps Scrummie can help. He’s generous to a fault and enormously talented for a little, stone statue.

Ziggy has just wandered into my office and curled up in is his basket. You’d think he’d have a vested interest in helping out – but that doesn’t seem to be the case. His eyes are closing already and he’ll soon be asleep. Augie will show up shortly.

Maybe I should hold a contest or just keep my mind on high alert (not red alert) but creative and snappy. Either that or I’ll just turn it over to my sub-conscious mind and something will pop into my head when I least expect it. That’s the mystery of the human mind. So a name for the Mini will follow, as will ideas about animation. I can see it so clearly in my imagination. The Alphabet Boys zipping around, in and out of the pages of my two WebSites, adding such an exhilarating sense of fun that people will fall in love with them.

As to their adventures, the possibilities are endless. What goes on in a city the size of Toronto? Everything! Augie and Ziggy can go anywhere. With their inquisitive natures and quirky personalities they’ll have an opinion on things, just a tad different from the mainstream, and isn’t that a welcome thing! They can even comment on things that are “verboten” for me to address.

It’s possible that people may think I’ve lost a few too many brain cells in recent years. What with menopausal memory loss and middle-age madness possessing my aging brain. I’m now chatting about a cat and a dog who own a car, have cool sunglasses and hit the town with “social comment” as their only raison d’etre. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Well, that’s exactly what I think! And speaking of Augie and Ziggy’s Mini – the perfect name has just popped into my head. The little red, convertible is going to be the Mini Mobile. So expect to hear a lot more from The Alphabet Boys, because they’ve only just begun!