Bye Daddy! I’m heading to Africa to feed some more hungry kids…
The Nest wishes a happy 75th birthday to actress Sally Struthers, who was born on July 28, 1947. Struthers is best remembered for her role as Gloria Bunker on the iconic sitcom All in the Family, but to those of us who watched a LOT of TV in the early 1990’s, we saw her smiling face on more than just reruns. Sally was the spokeswoman for International Correspondence Schools, perhaps the most famous way to get a college degree through the fucking mail back in the days before Al Gore invented the internet… and which offered degrees in seemingly every field imaginable from firearms repair to Mecca door greeter.
I wonder what those people who got their diploma in TV/VCR repair are doing these days?
But most infamously, she was also the public face of a group called Christian Children’s Fund, which was one of the billions of companies back in the day trying to remind us that while we were scarfing down the barely edible mess in our TV dinners that there were kids in Africa who were starving. By this point in time, Sally had put on more than a few extra pounds, and the image of a slightly roly poly celebrity trying to make us feel sympathy for the rail thin kids she was walking amongst….. well
A big thanks to Sally Struthers for bringing this once avid TV commercial fan two of the most insipid ad campaigns of the GHWB era….
And now I’ll put that philosopher assistant’s degree I got from ICS in 1992 to good use and answer this week’s Share Your World questions from Melanie!
For just the price of your wireless bill, you can feed these poor, hungry children… as if you’re going to give that up.
What mythical creature would improve the world most if it existed?
Mermaids aren’t just pretty to look at, they’d also be a vital part of our ecosystem by consuming all of the toxic waste that dumped into our oceans and streams…
None for me, thanks! I just had a full dinner of oil sludge, a few used syringes, and five gallons of mercury.
Should the death penalty be re-instated? Why or why not?
I didn’t realize it had been un-instated. Not only should it be re-instated, but we need to bring back REAL methods of execution. No sissy lethal injections. I’m talking firing squads! Burning at the stake! Draw and quartering! Fighting lions in the colosseum! The guillotine!!!! Fire ants!!!!!!!!!! BLOOD! BLOOD! BLOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Your method of execution has been chosen.
Spontaneity Or Stability?
As much as I like the concept of spontaneity, I’m pretty sure I actually prefer stability. Like a computer program, I prefer not to have my routines interrupted…
Completely spontaneous and random image from The Nest’s archives… and perfect for the previous question as well.
Can a dog/cat suffer? What about an ant? What about a plant? What about a bacteria cell? Why do some humans think we’re the only species that does suffer? Your thoughts?
The ability to “suffer” requires some form of consciousness. I doubt many people today still think that animals are different from humans in that manner, it’s just apathy to the fact. Someone who kicks a cat could care less if that cat suffers from the pain. Bugs….. well, as a squirrel lover I know all too well that most people could care less how much something that’s considered a pest to them suffers. Plants can show signs of trauma, but do they suffer? Are they conscious/sentinent beings? Who knows?
Nice home. I’ll bet that tree really appreciated that big hole you dug in it…
What are two things that have brightened your day today?
It’s 5 AM and I just woke up a couple hours ago. But in honor of Sally….
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
we love the spontaneous photo… that’s a super wall decoration… better than a boring moana lisa…
Yes, and when it starts smelling in a few days, a few candles can cover it up…
Thanks Bill for Sharing Your World! Interesting trivia about Sally Struthers. I think you have a very kind heart to label her (in her later years) as “roly poly.’ It used to be a huge source of ironic amusement when she’d show up on one of those horrid infomercials about the poor starving children. I’ve got no room to talk (being large myself) but I did laugh. Great answers to all the questions, and the cartoon? Magnificent as usual. I always thought those celebrities who looked so earnest and kind, must do exactly what your squirrel did in the strip – once the camera is off, so is any kind of facade.. Have a wonderful week and I hope y’all can stay cool where you are. It’s like the surface of the sun ’round here. 🥺🌞☀🌻😎
It’s easy to stay cool when it rains every day. And we’ll supposedly get a couple of cool AND dry days once this stupid front finally moves through tomorrow…. but by then I’ll be back to work. The grass is going to have to cut itself this time…
I remember those infomercials and thinking she would be a better spokesperson for Hung Lo’s All You Can Eat Buffet. That squirrel up in the tree by his tree hole has a GREAT smile. Oh and I know mermaids exist – yeah – I’ve seen them on the beach before……of course I didn’t have my glasses on so they could have been colorful rocks.
Pam
Sally and Hung Lo would get along great… and could even entertain the buffet guests with a little impromptu sumo wrestling! I’ve never seen a mermaid myself, but then again, maybe all the man eating otters around here took care of them already…
I prefer to think of mermaids as beautiful women who can grow legs in order to leave the sea to “show me a good time” rather than ocean-dwelling waste disposal systems…
Nah, they’ve always had that backwards. Mermaids clean the ocean, while the Kraken grows legs to leave the sea and show lucky men a good time….
Oh my gosh…that Sally skit made me snort coffee out of my nose! 😆
My mother believe plants talked to each other and that is why you should never have just one. They needed company.
My squirrels are doing pretty well, considering that there has been ZERO inches of rain in both June and July. With all the inflation, I nonethelss upped the amount of seed and suet I but, but I really can’t do much more. Social security ain’t doing the job. It never did, but it’s worse now.