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Class Notes

I graduated from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. The university has an area on their web-site called Class Notes. Alumni can update their friends on what they’ve been up to since graduation. I eagerly entered my information:

Hello, fellow Bobcats! What a time I’ve had since graduation in 1983. During our graduation ceremony I was spotted by a modeling agency and whisked away for test shots in New York. I didn’t even have time to pay the $5,000 in parking tickets I had accumulated since freshman year.

Soon I was People magazine’s “World’s Most Handsome Man”, dating princesses and filling in as guest host on Entertainment Tonight Weekend Edition.

After 5 years of existing on cigarettes, I sat on the beach in Cannes and thought about my next career move. From the beach I could see a woman screaming for help as she thrashed in the surf. The lifeguard was busy ordering a baguette from a stand near the Palais de Festivals. I raced out to save her. At first she struggled. Then she realized who I was and relaxed while I dragged her to shore. I turned her on her side and 15 gallons of ocean water and 2 gallons of oil from the Exxon Valdez poured on the sand.

She turned out to be the mission director of a manned space flight to Mars. She believed I could help the mission because my high profile would be good for publicity. I trained for 1 ½ days and joined the Mars team. We landed on Mars, got out, and looked around. It looked a lot like Palm Springs. So we made arrangements to develop Mars into a planned golf community complete with houses with little garages for golf carts.

Seeking a new challenge, I had some fraternity brothers hack into the Ohio University computer and change all my grades to A’s.

Armed with a new GPA I enrolled in Harvard Medical School. We learned about the Jarvik Heart, the world’s first man made heart. Inspired by the story, I developed the Ditzel Liver. It was first tested on Ohio University seniors. However, it did not have the intended result. Equipped with brand new livers, the seniors decided to start over as freshman and party another four years.

And now, you too, can enjoy the benefits of a brand new liver. Just log on to www.ditzelliver.com and fill out the questionnaire. Your new liver will be shipped Next Day Air from our lab in my spare bedroom. You’ll get complete self-surgery instructions. In no time at all you’ll be back in the Dog Pound cheering on the Browns.

Thanks, Bobcats! See you soon!

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Joe

Joe Ditzel Gift Guide

For my birthday last year, a couple of relatives said to me, “I didn’t know what to get you, so here is a gift certificate.”

To eliminate any doubt about what to get me, I have created the Joe Ditzel Gift Guide. I welcome any of these great gifts:

* Ferrari F355 Spider Convertible- $140,000. If you buy this car for me I’ll thank you with a coupon for a free Jiffy Lube. Every body needs a good Jiffy Lube now and then.

* Tour of American Strip Clubs- forget the Bike Ride Across Iowa or the African Safari for adventure vacations. I want to tour America’s Finest Strip Clubs with a big stack of 20’s.

* I’ll start with the Cheetah III in Atlanta. Round of Golf with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nucleus and Alice Cooper – as a golfer it is my dream to play golf with Arena and Jack. As far as Alice, I want a chance to win back some of the money I spent from my paper route on “School’s Out” and “Billion Dollar Babies” in the 70’s.

* Case of Makers Mark Bourbon- Makers Mark has the greatest ad slogan ever: “Tastes expensive. And is.” Makes Jack Daniel taste like bourbon strained through old socks.

* Hair- my hair is receding from my temples and meeting in the middle, leaving an island of hair in the front. If you look close, you can see Gilligan and the Skipper waving. I look forward to your gift of a case of Rogaine.

* Heidi Klum.

I’ll add to the list as I think of things. However, you do not need to wait until my birthday to send me any of these items.

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Health

13 Week Medical School

Another group of medical researchers just determined that a high fat diet is NOT linked to a higher risk for cancer. I never know what to believe. Still, if I get sick, I’m happy I can be sick at this time in history. I’ve been reading about the history of medicine and we don’t know how good we have it.

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Sports

Members Only

The U.S. Senior Open is scheduled to be played at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club July 8-11, 1999. I look forward to attending that event. I want to see the great golfers. But mostly I want to find the member that got me in trouble when I worked there as a busboy in high school.

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Cars and Traffic

Nobody Walks In L.A.

I used to live in San Francisco. San Francisco is a walking town. People are serious about walking. The favorite business shoe style for men is black Gucci’s with Vibram soles. Women wear high heels with actual mountain climbing cleats in them. In addition, many people carry walking sticks along with their briefcases. It helps with balance and is useful in poking tourists who stand in your way in small groups bent over maps looking for the Coit Tower.

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Uncategorized

Wordsquatters

I played the message again.

“Hello, yes, this is John Wanker. I have just read your humor article entitled “Through the Nose”. I am informing you that I own a company called Through the Nose. Your title is infringing on my trademark.”

What? This guy has a company called Through the Nose and the title of my humor column is infringing on his trademark?

It’s getting so you can’t use common words and phrases without violating some creep’s trademark. First the dot coms took over the language because you can’t start a web-site with a cool dot com name. And all those are snapped up by cyber-squatters.

Now everyday words violate a trademark.

I guess I have to eliminate these potential titles then:

Pass the Salt Please
I Took Three of Them
Take A Little Off the Sides
Do You Have This in Size 10?
Move Your Ass, This is the Passing Lane!
Thank You for Seating Us Near the Kitchen
No, It Fits Fine, I’m Returning It Because It Is Ugly
Are You Going To Eat That?
The Green is 110 Yards Away, I’d Use Your Driver
What Is It Going to Take to Put You In This Car Today?
You’ll Like Her, She Looks Like Mariah Carey
65? Are You Sure This A School Zone?
I Didn’t Vote For Him
Its Three Hours Long Which is 2 ½ Hours Too Much
He’s Dumb, But He Can Sure Hunt Ducks
That Toupee is Natural
This Model Has Ocean Views
I’m A Really Good Cook
The Cops Over There Are Really Redneck
Again?
You Better Run, You Punks!
No, It Looks Really Good On You
This Will Last Forever
You Have Got To Be Kidding

And let’s don’t forget:

I Always Hated Your Family

And

Get Down Off Of There!

My guess is that very soon people will get copyrights not just for common words, but for common sounds. Every time you eat delicious food and say, “Mmmmmmmm”, you will be violating the copyright of the Mmmmmmm company of Tulsa.

If you make fake explosion noises like “Kerperssch” you will get an angry call from the Kerperssch company based in Auckland.

Have you ever started to sneeze and then burped at the same time? It sounds kind of like,”AaaaaaahaaaaBUUURRRPPPPP!”

Well, get out your checkbook. You owe royalty money to the owner of the sneeze-burp trademark- the AaaaaaahaaaaBUUURRRPPPPP company headquartered in Akron.

You don’t want to see their logo.

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Family

Ditzels Through History

I’m tracing my family tree. I feel that the history of each family is the real history of the United States. I want to find out why my ancestors left Germany in the 1880’s to settle in Dayton. I want to learn first hand the sacrifices they made. Plus I want to see if there is any hidden treasure they left that rightfully belongs to me.

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Family

Ditzel Mobile

My father was, how do you say, frugal. When it came to our family cars, he was at his “frugalest”. When I was in high school we had a 1965 Mercury Comet. We pleaded for a newer car. It was embarrassing to pick up girls in this car. The doors were as heavy as a door to a safe. If the door didn’t close on your date and kill them, they cut their knee on the 8-track tape machine hanging down from the dash.

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