Take Two: Marco madness

How Well Do You Know Your Friends?

I'm fortunate to have friends in the real estate business. I thought I knew them well until I got a good look at their business cards.

After their names are several capital letters, usually three or four, between commas — CIPS, GRI, FIPC, CPM, CSM, PAM and so on. What do I make of this? Do my friends belong to cults or dinner clubs? Are they spies or nuclear scientists or canasta addicts?

Could CSM, for example, stand for Chocolate Supporters of Marco? Google helped me break the code:

CIPS — Certified International Property Specialist, realtors who can say guten tag and ciao baby.

GRI — Graduate Realtor Institute means they know a lot of stuff about real estate and are highly trained.

CPM — Certified Property Manager. What is certified property?

Do I need to get my property certified? Does it have something to do with sewers?

Next time you're looking for a realtor, check out the capital letters after their names. My favorite is BLSH. It's not blush. Realtors never blush. It means Buy Low Sell High. In my friends' case, CIPS means Cool Individuals, Personally Successful.

Oh, I forgot one. PAM (see above) stands for Perfect Attendance Medal. I had one of those once, in Sunday School. I think it's way past its expiration date.

Will the Real Candidate Popoff Please Stand?

Hint to some voters — when you see one Popoff on Marco, you have not seen them all. The one running for city council is Rob, not Rick.

The latter Popoff tells me that more than a few clients who get their hair done at Rick's Island Salon in the Esplanade have assured him,

"Don't worry, Rick, I'm voting for you!" Rick patiently explains that he's not a candidate.

I'm sure Rob has many skills, but if you're looking for a good hairdo rather than a bad hair day make sure the man with his hands on your head is Rick.

Delta at our Doorstep?

Anybody who tries to fly Delta Air Lines from Naples to Atlanta must assume the bankruptcy-beleaguered airline is doing well on that route.

I recently wanted to fly from Naples, the world's most convenient airport for those of us who live in the southern half of Collier County. Delta was full and expensive compared with flights to Atlanta from the Ft. Myers international airport.

Others have had the same experience — very tight flights at premium prices. I know about supply and demand so I hope the rumors are true, that Delta (ASA) hopes to increase seating capacity on Naples-Atlanta flights.

And the Winner is:

Last week I asked you who said the following: "Why should freedom of speech and freedom of the press be allowed? Why should a government doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticized?

It would not allow opposition by lethal weapons.

Ideas are much more fatal things than guns. Why should any man be allowed to buy a printing press and disseminate pernicious opinion calculated to embarrass the government?" Your choices were: Harry Belafonte, Jerry Falwell and Nikolai Lenin. It was Belafonte — just kidding. It was Lenin, in 1920.

Snowbirds' New Slogan?

My clever friend BK sends me word of having seen this bumper sticker in Bonita Springs:

"Snowbirds: The other white meat."

So far, none of the city council candidates has endorsed this opinion.