Smel

It was a sunny day, here in the valley of the sun, sometime in the early 1980's. I was going to have lunch with "Little Dave" from Esquire Motors, our landlord, so to speak. Dave was about 5' 2" tall. Dave was a guy that rented an old car lot on 21st Street and Indian School Road.. Dave was tired of the car business and wanted to sublet. We went to lunch that sunny day in the early 1980's. We decided to go to a place that specialized in Albacore Tuna Sandwiches on delicious home baked rolls. I think it was called the Sun Flower.

Typically, you would order your sandwich, go to the cooler to choose your healthy fruit drink and wait for them to call your name. After ordering the sandwich, the young girl asked my first name for reference. I replied, It's Mel and we waited. About 5 minutes later, we heard them calling out over the loud speaker, Smel! Albacore Tuna on whole wheat for Smel!!! I casually walked up and took the sandwich and explained very simply, It's Mel. That caused a roar of laughter from the waiting patronage and Little Dave never let me forget it, repeating the story to everyone he knew. Soon people that I hadn't seen for months would call after me, Smel.....

I was able to pay "Little Dave" back one day when a vagabond truck selling it's product parked across from the car lot and put up a sign that ran about 30 feet. It ran from one light post to the next and it read, SHRIMP..... $5.99 LB.

I called Little Dave and told him to get right down here, there are people here that are looking for him!