Marking Time

When I was a wee lad living in my hometown in Virginia, to get home from the grocery store or any errand in town, we'd have to drive across the railroad tracks. A large brown-and-yellow billboard proclaiming the real-estate professionalism of Century 21 greeted us each time we re-entered our subdivision.

Back then in Century 20, I always wondered what Century 21 would do when we began living in Century 21. Would it stay the same? Would they no longer be 100 years ahead of their time? I think we all know the answers to those questions ... yes and no, respectively. So much for forward thinking.

I also wondered the same thing about 20th-Century Fox. That large company distributed the Star Wars films, and the little 20th-Century Fox logo was on practically all the Star Wars-toy boxes as part of the licensing crap. I remember when Star Wars came out (the first time, in the late 1970s for you newbies who missed the boat). I had the toys. This burning question about the movie company burned in my young mind. The answer is, as I see it, shown by the shortening of the name to simply Fox. In fact, it's FOX in all caps because the accompanying broadcast and cable operations seek to be IN OUR FACES.

So profound! It makes me want to go out and find a 1999 Mazda Millenia. Or maybe a 2000, just so I could explain once again to someone that the new millenium did not begin until 2001. Sheesh, stick to Hondas and Toyotas; at least both of them just use obscure or made-up words to name their cars.

In another date-related nugget of trivia, you may or may not have noticed that next Tuesday is 02-03-04. How come I notice? My newspaper publishes each Tuesday, and we put out the 02-03-04 tomorrow (Saturday). How's that for a time mixup? Happy weekend!