Watercooler Stories

JOHNNY CASH OUT OF HOSPITAL

Several years ago the singer's publicist announced that the singer had a physical condition that made it easier for him to get infections and hard to fight them off. About two weeks ago doctors for country music legend Johnny Cash decided to place him in a Nashville hospital because of bronchitis.

Doctors now tell the news provider country.com that Cash was released from Nashville's Baptist Hospital on Tuesday. At the time of his admission physicians said that the 69-year-old Cash could have weathered the storm at home but they were concerned that he might suffer additional problems and wanted him where they could monitor his recovery.

WANT A FREE CAR WASH? HEAD FOR WASHINGTON

If your car needs washing, there's a free car wash in Washington state, in the Portland, Ore., suburb of Camas. And it's open 24 hours a day. The single-bay, one-car-at-a-time spray wash isn't exactly a philanthropic enterprise, though. No one accidently left the water running. It was placed there by a paper company after neighbors complained that particulate matter from the facility was dropping on their cars.

Over the years the paper company has pretty well cleaned up its act, but the car wash is still there.

It turns on automatically when a vehicle enters it. Ironically, as you exit the wash you often have to drive through a huge puddle of water. Want to go around again?

UNIQUE STORE FAILS TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS

The store is called Harry's In a Hurry. It's an offshoot of a long-time produce market called Harry's Farmers Market. For years the quick in-and-out store has been a fixture on Peachtree St. in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.

Now, according to the Journal and Constitution, stockholders in the parent company have decided that not enough people were in enough of a hurry to shop there, so the Harry's in a Hurry concept will soon be nixed.

Meanwhile, three of the company's larger outlets will be sold to the Whole Foods Markets chain.

GAINESVILLE PRESERVATION MEETS OPPOSITION

A plan that would designate a portion of the University Heights sector of Gainesville, Fla., as an historic district has met instant criticism by some who say the move will cause problems for landlords in the area. The Gainesville Sun is reporting that city commissioners are in favor of the move, but many citizens spoke out against it at the last council meeting.

The neighborhood, adjacent to the University of Florida's main campus, is the site of several historic homes. Many of them were built during the 1920s when the school underwent a major expansion.

If the designation is made, landlords would have to ask permission to make major changes to their buildings.