Red Faced

I have some news for people who use cell phones in public: the rest of us can hear you. ... Tho I must admit I often get column fodder from some of these public conversations. Other than that, it's fun trying to figure out the conversation on the other end. ... You can play too. It goes like this: I hear, "Oh really, what did he say?" My imaginary reply from the other end, "He said he hid the body in the kids' toybox." ... But if that game gets boring and you're still annoyed, you can actually jump in and answer the question out loud. That usually takes the conversation down a few decibels from that point on. ...

So here's this from the Red Faced files: Somebody at the Citizen office heard the police scanner announcing four explosions at the Carroll County Courthouse and started calling staff, the sheriff and the ESPD. ... Nobody knew anything, but they sure got excited. ... Come to find out it was all part of an area-wide disaster drill. Interesting that the PD and sheriff's office hadn't heard about it though.

By the way, the red-faced person should thank Enid Swartz for donating the scanner to the Citizen in the first place. ... Speaking of donating, artist Jody Stephenson must be painting with both hands and both feet. Her paintings are everywhere I look. The ECHO Clinic could double as a gallery of her work. She even donated a beaut of a painting of the Eureka Springs Train Station for raffle at the Farmers' Market. Nice community spirit, Jody. ..

Good call on having alcohol in the city auditorium during Blues Weekend. It's rumored not only were the sales great, but there was probably more money in the tip jar alone than there was income from total sales last year. ...

The question remains. Is it even possible for the ESPD to ticket bikers spread all over the downtown area for riding loud? Or are they just getting a free ride (so to speak). ...

I see the Joy Motel has changed its sign after keeping pancakes warm under new managers. Luckily, they're still doing interesting things under new managers. ... This town needs all the fun signage it can get. ... Speaking of what the town needs, Charlotte Buchanan said thanks for the memories and the newspaper mention, and she now has several towns interested in hosting and developing The Artery. ... and the bleed goes on.

Email me at oliverdeplace@hotmail.com with your own interesting cell phone snooping, or throw me a bone on my Facebook page, eh?