I found Chubby Checker in the business section again. And again, the article was related to his sharp new snack bus. As it turns out, he loves The Checkerlicious Express so much he has become the spokesman for the company that designed the bus. Well, of course he did! He is Chubby Checker! He is diversifying the Chubby Checker industry as we speak.
All the man wanted was a comfortable bus for travelling that would also give him the ability to "promote and market my delicious snacks" but no one would build him a snack bus! They told him it wasn't possible! Then he found a company in my very own state that could do it and it exceeded his expectations. He loves The Checkerlicious Express and the company that made it happen.
I love the company because they made a wise choice. When Chubby Checker is endorsing something he mentions it as often as possible. Even in an article about his music he manages to mention his snack food line. I can only assume that now he will be able to smoothly work in the bus that helps sell his snack food line. They got themselves a spokesman that probably would have been speaking about them in the first place. That probably also means that Chubby Checker will be getting paid for something he would be doing anyway. Everybody wins!
I thoroughly enjoy this new route Chubby Checker's career is taking and I liked the article too, but I must say I didn't care for the headline. This time it was Chubby Checker Throws a Twist Into RV Industry by Becoming Spokesman for Kingsley. Oh, come on. We know why Chubby Checker is famous, does the word twist have to be in every single headline written about him? If it's not in the headline it can usually be found in the first paragraph and it drives me nuts.
Why not use a different song? Think of the possibilities. Chubby Checker Ponies Up His Services for Kingsley. Kingsley No Longer in Spokesman Limbo. And...that's all I could come up with. I would just like to see the Twist not be so overused. Of course, I'm guilty of the same thing when I have to come up with a song snippet to use as a link on the main page. After three years I think I'm just going to have to settle for one snippet that I always use for Chubby Checker.
I do that for The Darkness, I should probably have the same policy for Chubby Checker. I write about him way more than anyone else, keeping it uniform would be slick. Actually, it will save me time because I won't have to figure out which Chubby Checker songs I haven't used yet. Unfortunately, I was thinking of using a line from the Twist. Even though I will be annoying myself, if you see a line from the Twist on the main page you will know good and well that there is a new chapter in the Chubby Checker story.
Today we get a bonus chapter because before I started writing, I checked my email and had a treat waiting for me. A reader in Germany found an article on Chubby Checker in a magazine's where are they now? section and then spent an hour (in her words wasted an hour) translating it into English. That is the coolest thing I have gotten in the email in a long time.
It wasn't full of too many surprises because they were catching up with Chubby Checker and we have been following him all along, but there are a couple of things that I enjoyed so well. They actually asked him how his hips are holding up! Hee! Apparently he notices it's not as easy as it was forty-five years ago but he'll keep at it as long as he can. The best part was when they asked him about the nickname Chubby. He gave the standard answer about having a boss at the poultry market who called him that when he was a teen because he was a smidge overweight. Nothing new there, but then he went on to explain that he still has problems with his weight because he loves to eat, especially meat.
And then...he said that was the reason his jeans were so tight sometimes. That explains the snug camel colored suit. He had probably just enjoyed a Chubby Checker steak. I know that buttoning my jeans isn't always the easiest task after I eat a steak so I understand his problem and will cut him some slack. Cutting him some roomier slacks would probably be more helpful, unless the extra room would lead him to extra weight gain. He's trying to avoid that!
He says he stays fit by performing, doing the Twist on a regular basis helps a lot. He should make an exercise video. An exercise video that comes with coupons for his snacks. Instructions: Consult with a doctor before starting any exercise program. Make sure you have six bottles of Chubby Checker's Girl Of The World mineral water handy. Eat a diet high in fiber, produce, and beef jerky. Walk instead of drive, but if you are going to drive make sure it's in a custom motorcoach.