Last week Mike and I stopped in at a Waffle House for breakfast. Plexi-glass was up between the booths. Waitstaff was face-masked. We took our masks off to eat. Fiesta omelet I shared with Mike once he finished his egg sandwich.
On the wall I happened to notice a plaque of appreciation – a local cheer-leading squad thanked this Waffle House for its sponsorship for a season. The squad had a cute name – something like the Candy Caners. And this got me to remembering the Nu-Tones and the No Names.
It was back when I was still grade school age. My best friend, Diane, had a brother who played little league baseball in the summer. Sometimes I went to his games with Diane's family. The uniforms intrigued me. Boys wearing outfits like the men wear in games on television!
And the names of the teams were on each shirt. One year Jimmy was on the Nu-Tone team. Which seemed like a cool name although I did not get what it meant. Gradually I came to know that Nu-Tone a furniture store in Hamburg – the nearest town to us that was big enough to have a furniture store in it. That's a catchy name for a store. I still don't quite get it, but being stuck in my head for all these decades means it was clever enough to be memorable!
One night the Nu Tones played a team called the No Names. Now that was really cool! It got me to fantasizing when I grew up I'd have a team or a club or something and call it the No Names – we would be mysterious, infamous – for what? Well that would all fall into place later.
It turned out, I had a slight connection to the team! The No Names were sponsored by my mother's boss! Mom worked for a lawyer, Mr. Danieu. And back then, lawyers were not allowed to advertise. The kids on the baseball team were looking for a sponsor, and not knowing any better, asked Mr. Danieu if he could sponsor them for the season. Not wanting to turn the kids down, he agreed to donate the money for their uniforms as long as they did not put his name on them. I don't know if it was Mr. Danieu or the team coming up with No Names. I can still picture the boys running the bases - No Names on their backs.
Oh how the times have changed! These days lawyers can advertise. And they advertise to the extent that they hijack whole Sunday afternoon movies on the television to tell you how to join their class action suits! And why shouldn't they advertise? They are providing a service in letting people know who to call if they have been wrongly injured.
The commercials also provide another service. They take me back to the ball game: Peanuts and popcorn and No Names on their backs!
20200731 62 No Names
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