dead man walking

When I heard last week that O.D.B. had died, it didn't mean anything to me. Then my son asked me if I had heard about Old Dirty Bastard dying and I made the connection. I am not a big fan of the Wu-Tang Clan or any other Klan, but I thought that Old Dirty Bastard had made a name for himself: a name I would have been happy to have. However, since I know who my father was, I guess I will have to continue to use the name I have been given, Dirty Old Man.

Another dead man in the news this morning has me concerned.

Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's, is going to start appearing in their advertisements again. I thought that Dave Thomas was a credible spokesman for Wendy's when he did their ads for twelve years. He seemed really down to earth and I believed him. The only problem I have with Wendy's using him as a spokesman is that he is dead.

Would you buy a cheeseburger from a dead man? I have to admit that Wendy's cheeseburgers are my favorite fast food, just a notch ahead of Taco Bell, and I doubt if I will stop eating them, but as a man who is seeking meaningful employment, I have an objection to Wendy's unearthing a corpse and putting him to work.

If one were in the business of being a television spokesman for products (a field of endevour in which I do not particate or seek employment), I believe one would have to feel some resentment. After all, Wendy's is hiring a dead man rather than employing the living. Whenever I am in the running for a job and someone else is preferred over me and I don't get the job, I can understand because they may have been more qualified than me or they might have worked for less money, or they might have "known someone." But, I think it would be a blow to my ego to have someone hired ahead of me who was deceased.

It's tough enough to find a job in the Bush economy, when competing with able-bodied job seekers, but when companies start bringing in the dead to fill positions, then the Republican revolution has come to fruition.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't hate the dead. It's just that I think the living should get preference when filling available jobs. And my message to Wendy's is this: if you hire the dead, then someday only the dead will have jobs. When that happens, who will have money to buy your burgers. Just something to think about.

That's about all I have on my mind right now.

This is Jimbo's world and I'm Jimbo.