Minimalist marketing

Shortly before Christmas, Suzi and I went to see the display at Old Sturbridge Village.

There are places you imagine being an obvious field trip for elementary school students — where I grew up, it was The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown — and this was that place for central and western Massachusetts … probably northern and central Connecticut, too.

As for me, even though I’ve received dozens of work emails from OSV over the years, I had never been.

It was quite lovely.

The village seems like a pleasant place to visit under normal circumstances, but they decorated it nicely for Christmas, and it was an enjoyable experience as day turned into evening.

We also saw something that struck us funny right outside.

When you’re trying to figure out where to go to eat, do you ever suggest “the Italian place,” or “the Chinese place,” or “the burger place,” especially if you don’t remember the name off the top of your head but the person you’re talking to knows where you’re talking about?

Well, in Sturbridge, “the Thai place” is called … Thai Place.

Pretty hard to forget that one. It’s kind of brilliant, really.

The thing about Thai Place or Dentistry & Braces — although we found the sign a bit aggressive — there’s no artifice. You know exactly what you’re getting.

But for straightforward simplicity, with just a touch of insistence, nothing beats the sandwich shops we saw all over London.

Eat.

That was the name — Eat.

Sadly, it’s no more.

She’s so going to laugh at me when she sees this …

Whether you plan on avoiding black cats altogether or staying tucked in bed, it's worth diving into why Friday the 13th has a superstitious reputation. https://t.co/bDTL39aoNg

— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) January 13, 2023

Friday was Friday the 13th, hence this appearing on the Twitter machine.

My friend Renee replied that she was born on a Friday the 13th, and has always considered it her lucky day.

To which I immediately thought … “Oh s#*t, did I miss Renee’s birthday?” Ours is a friendship that is not meant to miss each other’s birthdays.

Then I remembered — the Friday the 13th when Renee was born was in October.

And I didn’t miss it when it happened last year.

Panic over.

Since we last saw each other …

Graham’s still working at getting his normal life back.

Rosie reveals her word of the year. It’s a good one.

Fran welcomes 2023.

Read this …

A once-in-a-lifetime experience happened to my twin sister today & I thought you all may find it pretty breathtaking & beautiful too! 🫶

— erica wenger⚡️ (@erica_wenger) January 10, 2023

… followed by this. (Then come back here.)

Savannah is now definitely a resident of Wisconsin.

Becky has a new roomie.

I will read Pea Green’s posts whenever she writes them.

Renata … something, something … finding friends on Bumble. (I am old.)

Vee has a weird work situation. I’d be worried, too.

And I thought getting out of Zurich was tough.

I once took a mildly off-color remark Jillian made at a company party as a challenge and responded with something wildly inappropriate but which everyone (including her) thought was hilarious.

Now she’s working for the governor of Massachusetts and I’m … not. (She’s one of the good people.)

Grateful for the opportunity to serve 🇺🇸 and serve 💅🏻 https://t.co/jaFCI1m1cv

— Jillian Fennimore (@JillyFenn) January 8, 2023

Put out a call for the nice people of Twitter, get a replay from one of the best.

Here. I drew this for my daughter on Monday (paper plate in her lunch). Feeling this a lot, we are. pic.twitter.com/hfOu1ikbNy

— Bob Mina (@HurricaneBobM) January 11, 2023

Any chance this could actually happen?

Please sign my petition to make the weekends longer ✍🏻⬇️

— 𝒥𝒶𝒸𝓀𝒾𝑒. (@msjackattackie) January 14, 2023

Especially when you didn’t have cable and your early satellite dish couldn’t get ESPN because it may have been scrambled and the hill behind your house blocked it, anyway.

Throw up a hand if you’re old enough to remember when SportsChannel was on the goddamn short list of most valuable cable channels.

👉 https://t.co/VGcq0zynME pic.twitter.com/6i7FcjbYc9

— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) January 15, 2023

There’s no marketing like Grandma marketing.

Grandma: I checked your book out from the library, but I wrinkled it a little bit before I returned it, so people would know it's popular.

I'm retiring from marketing. Grandma is taking over.

— Kelly Ohlert (@KellyOhlert) January 11, 2023

When I saw the story, it did cross my mind.

Thanks for all the check ins, but I was not the Mainer who bought the one winning ticket in the big lottery. Didn't realize I had so many friends interested in my lottery habits… #Maine

— Austin (@Austin_Hodgens) January 14, 2023

Advertisement