0dds and Ends
Singles in Houston are looking for love--not in bars or the produce section of the grocery store, but at Bubbles Car Wash. In May, Bubbles held the first in a series of mixers for Great Expectations dating service. Club members were invited to stop by the wash just after closing time and mingle with fellow Houston singles. In addition to non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, the singles enjoyed a free carwash. Bubbles supplied the free washes while Great Expectations provided the refreshments.
"We're always looking for ways to promote our reputation and get the good word out about Bubbles," says carwash owner Bill Lawrence.
Bubbles marketing coordinator Rebecca Wheeler says the carwash will hold more singles events in 2002.
Last November, Lion's Gate Films released The Wash, a carwash comedy starring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. This is the first time carwashing was featured on the big screen since Richard Pryor's 1976 film Car Wash. I'm sorry to admit I paid good money to see this movie. While I hadn't expected an Oscar-worthy film, at the very least I was hoping to be entertained by some silly carwash antics. But sadly, I walked out of the theater wishing I could get back the hour and a half of my life I had just thrown away. No such luck. But what I did get out of it was a look, albeit skewed, at the general public's perception of carwash employees. It wasn't pretty.
In the movie, carwash employees are seen routinely emptying customers' cars of money, and Snoop Dogg's character openly sells pot while "working" at the wash. This movie is obviously fiction, but it shines an unflattering spotlight on an industry that has been struggling with image issues for years. On the bright side, bad reviews kept many movie-goers (i.e. carwash customers) away from this film.
More than 100,000 Native American artifacts recently uncovered just north of Flagstaff, Ariz., are headed for the Museum of Northern Arizona. But once they arrive, the museum will no longer be able to accept new artifacts from public projects.
Other museums across the Southwest are faced with a similar problem. The rapid growth in the Southwest over the last decade has created an archaeological boom that has overwhelmed the region's museums. These museums can't handle all of the artifacts that are found during publicly financed projects.
How does carwashing figure into this dilemma? The Museum of New Mexico's Laboratory in Sante Fe recently moved some of its collections into a converted carwash.
"Desperation will drive you to make funny decisions," said Bruce Huckell, the museum's senior research coordinator.
Last but not least, is one of my favorite carwash-related stories of late (see p. 60 for full story). Residents in Sonoma Valley, Calif., are up in arms over some feathered inhabitants of a local carwash. The Chicken Car Wash in Sonoma Valley is home to--you guessed it--chickens. While the roaming birds make for an interesting time at the carwash, some neighbors think the chickens are filthy and want them removed immediately. Owner Jerry Marino says that while he didn't introduce the chickens to his wash, removing them would ruin the carwash's chicken theme. Whether you're pro- or anti-chicken, I think you'll have to agree that this is great material for a carwash movie.
Tracy Charuhas
Editor
tracyc@vpico.com
