Sand delays, rain delays

As a monster sandstorm immobilizes all sides in the battle for Baghdad, we're still waiting and hoping for another post from Raed. While we wait, let's check in with a different correspondent, one who got his start more than 50 years ago during a baseball rain delay, when deejay Bob Elliott and newscaster Ray Goulding had to use their imaginations to fill time on WHDH radio in Boston. Wally Ballou, can you hear me?

"—ly Ballou here live at the Radio Foundation in New York City, where Larry Josephson, Bob & Ray's producer, is live collecting e-mailed birthday greetings for Bob Elliott, who turns 80 today, live.

Sounds like a very exciting scene, there, Wally. Where should our readers send their birthday greetings to Bob?

"Well, they can just click here to go to the Bob and Ray home page, and follow the instructions there. Or they can just click here to send the e-mail, without visiting the Bob and Ray page. But if they do that, they may never know that in honor of Bob's birthday, and in memory of Ray, who died in 1990, the Radio Foundation will be reissuing 16 CDs with more than 84 hours of classic Bob and Ray."

Wally, if any of our readers want to buy any of those Bob and Ray CDs or cassettes, what should they do?

"They can visit the Bob and Ray web site, or call 1-800-LAUGH24 (1-800-528-4424).

Some of our younger readers may never have heard Bob and Ray, Wally. Can you give us a brief excerpt?

Sure, here are a couple of paragraphs, quoted under the doctrine of fair use, from the book The New! Improved! Bob and Ray Book:

<<Bob: ...Now with today's next Hard Luck Story, here is Mrs. Bessie Wilmerding of Rolla, Missouri. And—

Wilmerding: Excuse me, but that's not Mrs. Wilmerding. It's Doctor Wilmerding. I'm an anthropologist.

Bob: Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor. I should have guessed you were a Ph.D. from your card here. It says you're leading an expedition to search for a primitive tribe that's still living in the Stone Age.

Wilmerding: Yes. Hunting for lost tribes like that is all the rage with anthropologists now. But there don't seem to be any left in New Guinea or the Philippines that haven't been discovered yet. So I'm using my own savings to hunt for one in New York.

Bob: You expect to find a tribe here that still has a Stone Age culture?

Wilmerding: Yes. My brother-in-law was here about a year ago. And he said he ran into some people out in Oueens who seemed awfully crude to him. But I haven't found any trace of them yet.

Bob: Well, it must be heartbreaking to get this close to a great discovery—and then have all the natives go into hiding. But our generous Bob and Ray organization wants to reward you for your efforts with this lovely pair of oversize foam rubber dice. See how they're tied together so they can be hung conveniently from the rearview mirror of your car?

Wilmerding: Well, I don't want anything like that to be seen in my car. I have a doctoral degree in anthropology.

Bob: You're entirely welcome...>>

Thank you, Wally Ballou. Hang by your thumbs, and write if you get work.

Wild Art Week

As Easter approaches, one neighbor family used their front yard to illustrate not only the connection between the Christian and pagan traditions surrounding the vernal equinox, but a possible miracle: why hasn't that bunny melted?