Talk of the Town: You’ve got to accentuate the positive

I’m drawn to positive people. They seem to look on the bright side of all most any situation—good or bad. There have been people in all walks of life who have been dealt a “bad hand” as they say in poker, but they still come up with a straight flush of positive thinking.

One of the rules I live by is not taking myself too seriously.

Learn to laugh at yourself, I always say. Laugh even when you are so embarrassed that you want lighting to strike you and put you out of your misery.

A couple of weeks ago I was on assignment with freelance photographer Scott A. Taras in Tumac‡cori National Historic Park, just south of Tubac. We were covering a story about historic preservation work on adobe buildings and found ourselves in the middle of about 30 participants of the 6th Annual Historic Preservation Partnership Conference from all over the state. The group was learning to make raw adobe in an outdoor workshop near the mission.

I greeted Dave Yubeta, the adobe expert conducting the workshop and proceeded to introduce myself to the crowd. Scott was trying to signal me, but I was so focused on the interview and asking questions that I failed to hear the snickering and whispers behind me. I didn’t realize my jeans had a tear the size of Texas on the seat and you could see my entire backside. I mean there was nothing left to the imagination.

I had two choices: (A) Turn red and run, or (B) confront my embarrassing moment with humor.

I chose (B), poking fun of my style of dress and thanking my late mother for her words of wisdom: “Always wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.” That is also known as “the clean underwear principle.”

Try finding the good in bad situations. You lose your electricity in a monsoon smack dab in the middle of a great movie. You either complain, or light some candles and tell ghost stories or jokes to your kids. Spend time talking and telling tales.

Take that half empty glass and fill it up with positive thinking.

One of the best ways to defeat pessimism is to create things in life that you can look forward to. It’s so simple. Ask yourself: What makes me laugh? What fills my heart with peace and love?

Who hasn’t heard of Pez candy? You see those little Pez dispensers in the department store candy aisles everywhere.

Many are highly collectible.

I could kick myself for not keeping the Pez dispensers I had as a kid. Some are worth several hundred dollars today to collectors.

Austrian candy executive Eduard Haas invented Pez candy in 1927. The original little candy bricks were peppermint. In fact, the word Pez is an abbreviation of the German word for peppermint (pfefferminz).

Originally, Haas created this new peppermint candy as an alternative to smoking for adults.

In following the physical habit of smoking, Haas developed a dispenser that looked like a lighter so rather than sparking up a cigarette, smokers would reach for the mint-candy dispenser instead. In the end, smokers hated it but some people loved it, especially kids. It was at this point that Haas turned his attention toward selling Pez dispensers as toys to hold candy.

Around 1952, cartoon heads and fruity flavored candy were introduced. Since then, over 500 different heads have been made.

The first character Pez dispenser was the full body Santa Claus with moveable limbs and fine painted detail. Although popular with children, Haas decided to change the image of the dispenser to that which we are most familiar with today — the straight rectangular body with the character head on top that dispenses the candy.

The first licensed character was Popeye, followed by Bozo the Clown, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Mickey Mouse.

In the 1980s, other popular licensed characters appeared such as Garfield & Friends, the Looney Tunes and the Smurfs.

As with other children’s toys, Pez followed the trend of using popular licensed characters from comics, cartoons and movies already familiar to their target market.

In 1987, feet were added to Pez dispensers to make the characters more lifelike followed by a series of accessories for their dispensers such as clothing and costumes.

Dreamworks has recently released a movie called “Kung Fu Panda,” an animated feature about a panda that learns martial arts. There are now four Pez characters featuring movie characters, Po the Panda, Master Monkey, Master Tigress and Shifu (red panda).

Pez dispensers have appeared in such movies as “The Client,” “Stand By Me,” and “E.T. The Extraterrestrial.”

A Tweety-Bird Pez had a guest appearance on “Seinfeld.”

In 1973, the first U.S. Pez plant was built in Orange, Conn., allowing the product to reach more customers. In 1983, Scott McWhinnie became “Pezident” and today remains the head of possibly the most prominent collectible company in the world.

Some Pez dispensers can sell for large amounts as collectibles.

The highest verifiable sale of Pez dispenser was a private sale of a Mickey Mouse softhead at $7,000 between an Austrian dealer and a California collector. This dispenser was never available for sale to the public, and was a factory prototype. The high prices which some Pez items fetch has led to the manufacturing of fake Pez items as well. The 2006 eBay sale of a clear 50s Space Gun for $11,000 took place but according to noted Pez author, David Welch, the dispenser was later proven by chemical testing to be a well-made fake.

Both the Fleet Reserve Association of Tucson and the Military Officers Association were well represented June 14 at Elks Flag raising ceremony held at the Green Valley Elks Lodge #2592, organized by Hans Boensel, veterans chairperson.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.

Since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14, Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by celebrating June 14 as Flag Day. Prior to 1916, many localities and a few states had been celebrating the day for years. A Congressional legislation designating that date as the national Flag Day was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949; the legislation also called upon the president to issue a flag day proclamation every year.

rford@gvnews.com