Oh, thank Heaven

Published 12:01 am Monday, July 11, 2011

Brain freezes for everyone: The grand-daddy of convenience stores, 7-Eleven, is celebrating its birthday, choosing 7-11-11 to mark the occasion, and is offering free 7.11-ounce Slurpees to customers. The slushy sugary drinks were first made in 1959 by freezing soda with a car’s air-conditioning unit.

Of course today’s Slurpee-making machines are vastly more modern, with the soda being run through the air-conditioning unit of an SUV.

Raise a Slurpee: Today also marks the first anniversary of the capture of Camano Island’s Colton Harris-Moore, aka The Barefoot Bandit, by authorities in the Bahamas, ending a long string of burglaries and thefts of vehicles, boats and planes..

To mark the day, The Buzz invites the general public, particularly those who have been menaced in the past by burglars and thieves, to salute Harris-Moore by taking off your shoes, putting up your feet and enjoying a beverage of your choice.

What’s in a name? The Herald’s popular Aptonym feature, weekly stories about people in the county whose names aptly fit their vocations, returns with a Q&A with Jennifer English, who teaches English at Snohomish High School.

The Buzz would have qualified, but we gave up beekeeping for this gig.

–Jon Bauer, Herald staff