Fido needs a fragrance

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 22, 2000

SAN FRANCISCO (NYT) -- "The same fragrances that help us transcend stress and anxiety can move our pets to a higher plane, too," says aromatherapist DeAnn Lowell, founder of Peppermint Pets aromatherapy candles for dogs and their owners. Unfortunately for the former, the scents -- lavender, peppermint and geranium -- seem more geared to the preferences of the latter, the person who plunks down the cash. Four-legged beneficiaries might prefer hydrant, hot dog or the canine equivalent of Obsession, hindquarters-of-a-friend.

Snoopy gets stamped

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) -- Look out, Red Baron -- Snoopy has a new ally in the U.S. Postal Service. A new postage stamp featuring Snoopy is to be unveiled Sept. 30 at the Mall of America here as part of the weekend observance of the 50th anniversary of Charles Schulz's Peanuts cartoon strip. The stamp will feature the famous beagle as the World War I Flying Ace atop his doghouse, according to Jim Ahlgren of the Postal Service's Northland District, which includes Minnesota. The stamp itself will not be issued until next spring and likely will be among the first 34-cent issues for first-class postage. The Postal Service has applied to its rate-setting agency for a one-cent rate increase, and approval is expected before the end of the year, Ahlgren said.

Imagine the workers comp claims

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (NYT) -- Mike Bailey, a professional, waded into a manmade pool, grabbed an eight-foot alligator by the tail and started tugging it back and forth like a wet mop as tourists watched from behind a steel fence at Seminole Okalee Indian Village and Museum. "Wait," screamed 3-year-old Ryan Keats. "You can't." But for $12 an hour, Bailey does.

He reached into the water, wrapped his arms around the squirming, hissing, 220-pound alligator and carried it to a spit of sand. "Is he gonna bite?" Ryan screamed. "He's gonna try," grunted Bailey, straining to pin the alligator to the sand. The alligator opened its jaws to show two U-shaped rows of flesh-rending teeth, 40 on the top, 40 on the bottom.

Health insurance for its alligator wrestlers, point out officials of the Seminole Nation, is available. There are immediate openings. Despite generous pay and benefits, "We just don't have enough alligator wrestlers," said Alexandra Frank, operations manager at Seminole Okalee Village, a small museum and tourist stop between Miami and Fort Lauderdale on the Seminole Reservation.

For decades, Seminoles here have entertained tourists -- and relieved them of their vacation dollars -- by wrestling alligators. But now, Seminoles say, there is a shortage of young people within the tribe who want to go into the line of work, preferring college, e- commerce, casinos and, well, anything else. So, tribe officials are trying to recruit alligator wrestlers, and "just because someone's not a Seminole, doesn't mean we'll look down on them," Frank said. The tribe even advertised in The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel newspaper. "WANTED: Alligator wrestlers. Must be brave and a risk taker. Males and females OK. No experience needed."

So far, only a few people have applied. Most have been rejected. "Ain't very many of them going to have a chance of getting a job," said Bailey, a powerfully built 22-year-old who is not a Seminole but does have a stepfather who is part Choctaw. "Most of them just weren't any good."

And, says Bailey, there is really no such thing as a bad alligator wrestler. "They'll kill you in a second," he said, "or if you're lucky, they'll just tear your fingers off."

Applications are still being taken.

Surfing from the sky

ATLANTA (Cox) -- Ball Corp. hopes to get a jump on the competition in bringing the Internet to airborne passengers. The company's Ball Aerospace & Technologies unit expects to have technology in place by next summer that allows airline passengers to receive e-mail and surf the Web over land or water. While competitors like Boeing and Rockwell Collin are developing similar systems, they need to launch new satellites or build new antennas to do so. Ball said it will rely on antennas already on planes. Consumers would be able to access the Internet at their seats.

Snappy fashion statement?

ALBANY, N.Y. (NYT) -- The concept is simple enough to fit into the "Why didn't I think of that?" category. In fact, it's quite literally a snap. Rubber-band bracelets are replacing powerbeads as this fall's fashion-only accessory for the wrist.

But these aren't ordinary desk-drawer variety. Instead, they're rubber bands emblazoned with phrases like "Snap Out Of It," "I Flunked Gym," a bar code with "Human Being" stamped beneath it and -- one of the more popular -- "What Would Scooby Doo?" The bands (which retail for $2 or less) come in a every shade of the rainbow, and some even glow in the dark. "It's the anti-fashion statement," said Maria Vrachnos, manager of the LReport.com, an on-line youth-trend tracking report. "It's one of the hottest things currently on the teen fashion front."

Fashion giants are snapping to attention. Giorgio Armani ordered 60,000 bands inscribed with his Emporio Armani logo and a word ("love," "joy" or "happiness") to put in his 1999 holiday greeting cards. Geoffrey Beene, designer of Regis Philbin's monochromatic clothing line, is packaging his shirts with gray bands that say "stretch."