The Knights of the Auto Order Proudly Present: The Auto Body Estimate: Vol. II, #87, November 2008

We have great neighbors. I love dogs. I'm not complaining. But our neighbors recently inherited an elderly something-poo named Andy, who barks. To be clear, they are very thoughtful neighbors, and never let Andy bark more than once or twice before bringing him in the house, so it's not a problem. But he does bark.

Last weekend I was raking leaves. As the neighbors were away I could faintly hear poor Andy barking away inside the house the entire time. Now, I only bagged a few dozen contractor bags full of leaves, so it was only a couple of hours, but Andy was fully non-stop.

When they got home and let him out I realized he had additional motivation: he was wearing one of those white plastic Elizabethan collars that dogs are forced to wear in penitence for having licked themselves. (See an example here.)

My first thought was that we have a Tupperware lid that would fit quite securely on the open end. Does having this thought make me a bad person? I hope not. I suggest that the thought would have been bad only if I'd acted on it, and even then only if I'd "burped" out all the air.

In an effort to redeem myself I'll attempt a cute kid story. Erik (age 3) loves puzzles. He's pretty much the master of any 24 piece puzzle in the house. The other day he asked for "the puzzle with Elmo going potty." While this made me laugh (the image of a Muppet at a urinal always does) I had to explain that we don't have a puzzle with Elmo going potty. We have only one puzzle in which Elmo appears -- the entire Sesame Street posse is pictured -- and as near as I can tell no one is going potty (except possibly Oscar). I figured that maybe Erik was thinking of some weird "educational" puzzle at his daycare.

But Erik was adamant. And persistent, as only a three-year-old boy can be.

So I began pulling out all our puzzles. One from the movie Cars, one from Baby Einstein, and well, here's another one from Sesame Street, but it's a picture of Ernie and Burt seated at an ice cream parlor table, being served sundaes by Grover. "THAT'S IT," yelled Erik!

How was I to know that Elmo had momentarily left the table?

Don't be caught away from the table on December 3rd when the Auto Body Experience performs 3-4 songs at Sample Night Live's "2008 Audience Favorites Show." This is a great variety show featuring comedy, magic, theater, storytelling, music and more. And it moves quick -- don't dig burlesque puppetry? Wait 5 minutes for something completely different. Tickets are $20, but as one of our close, personal friends, you can buy them for $15 using the code DEC2 when ordering at www.samplenightlive.com. (Check out the site for more details too...) Note that the show is at the History THEATER at 30 East 10th Street in St. Paul and NOT at a similarly named venue we've played at before...

Then on Friday, December 12th we'll play our final show of 2008 at the Eagles Club. We're calling the night "The Auto Body Experience Company Holiday Party Show." I have no idea what this means, but we'll think of something. We'll start a little after 9PM and play two sets created especially for this night. Join us at 2507 E 25th Street in Minneapolis: 612-729-4469. There's free parking, no cover, and cheap drinks.

Best wishes for the holiday season, Scott Yoho, Grand Pooh-Bah, Knights of the Auto Order http://www.autobodyexperience.com

Radio Updates: On Thursday, Dec 11, MPR's Morning Show will air for the final time, broadcasting a free, live show at the Fitzgerald Theater from 6-9AM. While the Auto Body Experience will not perform, we'll be there for the fun and to thank the guys for their support. Moving forward, those who'll miss the Morning Show will have some streaming options: read about Dale Connelly and Radio Heartland at www.mpr.org.

Want more options? Karen Wright's "Minnesota Morning" runs 9-11:30 AM weekdays on Mankato's KMSU at 89.7. Karen's claim that "nobody plays fewer hits" is hard to dispute as she frequently plays the Auto Body Experience. Listen online at: www.mnsu.edu/kmsufm/listenlive.html.

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