It’s time for that beloved Holiday Classic, 101 Bebe Pandas!!!!
Rumor has it we are in line for yet another wind storm with probable power outages. To prepare, I have eaten all the ice cream (waste not, want not), made some more ice blocks to keep things in the fridge cold, and now am trying to get a few posts scheduled so that YOU don’t miss a single Day of Pandas! (aren’t I fabulous?) I would go by the hardware store to stock up on more batteries and maybe get a few more battery powered lights, but I’m guessing the shelves have already been cleared. Oh well.
Anyway, here are the first 2 episodes of our story!
Wait…who did you say is the star?How many times do we have to tell you, DON’T ANSWER THE DOOR!!!!!
Those who know some of my history know that in the mid to late 1980’s I worked for Starbucks Coffee, when it it was just a local Seattle coffee emporium, before some guy named Howard got his hands on it and um…made it what it is today. (You can interpret that any way you’d like).
I’ve been amused/annoyed/encouraged to read of the unionizing efforts of some of the retail Starbucks stores in the Buffalo NY area. Encouraged, because I think that workers demanding a fair workplace with livable wages is a good thing and I’m glad to know that these workers are standing up for their rights.
Amused, because I know it is probably driving Howard batshit to have workers puncturing his carefully crafted image of himself as the benevolent corporate overlord, and (failed) presidential candidate.
And annoyed, because the organizers and the reporters keep referring to this as the first attempt at unionization at Starbucks.
Ahem!
Somewhere around 1986 or ’87, the actual first union at Starbucks organized and was formed, starting at the roasting plant and then including the Seattle stores. It was not easy. We had great assistance from UFCW local 1001 in the persons of Jerry Patterson, Janet Boyd, Dave Schmidt, and Pam Blauman. I still consider them friends today. (Dave died this year from cancer and the world is a poorer place without him) They helped us navigate the treacherous waters that Starbucks flung in our path.
We had just (finally) negotiated our first contract when Howard bought out the company. He immediately dragged us back to the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract, despite telling us he wouldn’t do that, before the sale of the company. It got so nasty, that I left a few months later, as soon as the new contract was done. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, so, um…thanks?
Note: the union only lasted a few years at the roasting plant, and less at the stores, but we were the first union there. Just so ya know!
Anyway, my experience there has inspired several ‘toons, including this one!
We hope you are enjoying this encore presentation of It’s a WUnderful Life! This story (and many other stories about Mr. Wu) can be found in Book 4 of the panda Chronicles: The Book of Wu!
I’m pretty sure something is coming up next, I have to find my list where I actually figured out what I had planned. Good thong I posted yesterday and today’s ‘toons ahead, since we had (yet another) power outage that lasted all day. Weather can be so tedious!
But now, on with the show!
Yay! The heartwarming schmoopy ending!A bear and his mom…together forever?
I’m sure I’ll come up with something for tomorrow!
Today starts our Holiday Encore Presentation of It’s a WUnderful Life, which explores the existential question, pondered by Jimmy Stewart’s character in a complete rip-off of this version: what would the world be like if there were no more baby pandas?
Or something like that!
Thank goodness Bee the Bear still has her magical wand from the last adventure.Wu is a good bear at heart….
‘Toon in tomorrow for the next exciting episodes of It’s a WUnderful Life!
A few of the verses may be out of date, but please sing along with the pandas! (Sad to say there are STILL vile trumpy men around!)
Oh tidings of treason and greed.
Okay, so maybe Robert Mueller was a little bit of a disappointment, but there are still crimes to be revealed and punished. Way more, in fact than there were four years ago when this ‘toon was written. Buckle up, panda pals! It’s still a bumpy ride!
Coming up this week: It’s a WUnderful Life, starring the true Wu-Self!
It seems like we have not gotten much farther into our enlightenment than we were six years ago, five months after you know who announced he was running for…I can’t even say it… In fact, I’d say we are a whole lot worse.
Somewhere around Christmas Eve of 2014, Pinky bit the ouchie wire and went up in the Dreaded Hemlock and would not come down! Then Bob told a fib about it and was suspended (obviously Chris Cuomo should have learned this lesson from Bob and not made a similar mistake!) only to be replaced by none other than…
Oh, Bob, you didn’t really say that, did you?And look who Bob’s suspension replacement is! Huzzah!Mehitabel did NOT approve this cartoon.We KNEW that was you!I was really afraid this was going to happen.
I hope you enjoyed today’s encore presentation commemorating Pinky’s trip up the hemlock!
See you tomorrow for more from the holiday archives!
