Reader Exchange: Battery-operated can opener gives up ghost

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 27, 2001

Those spooky end-of-October things are taking place. First, tonight before we go to bed (unless we really enjoy getting up again at 2 a.m. to do it), we'll "fall back," setting our clocks back an hour to standard time. And night will come creeping in earlier. Then, Halloween with its insatiable goblins and ghouls arrives Wednesday.

Our reader requests aren't any scarier than usual, but many of them are rather challenging, including this first one, from Karen Lodato of Tampa. She is seeking the elusive handheld, battery-operated can opener without recharger, for travelers. She has owned one for 11 years, but recently it announced its final retirement and stopped working.

Karen believed that such a remarkable tool would be popular and therefore easy to replace, so she never bothered to take down the manufacturer's name or the serial number. Although she has called General Electric, Rival, Black and Decker and Hamilton, none has such an instrument for sale. So Karen is asking readers if they know where this product may be purchased. She may be reached at (813) 839-2566 (home phone) or (813) 679-6618 (cell phone).

Perhaps you wish to tackle the case of the invisible recliner and double-bed frame (no mattress) Suzi Cox is seeking. Both items were made by either Cargo Furniture, This End Up or Pine Factory, and even though Suzi has placed a classified ad, combed secondhand stores and gone to a few yard sales, she has had no luck finding them. Do you know where she might find either or both pieces of furniture? Please e-mail Elby53@prodigy.net.

Sharon Domke, who lives in Tandem Healthcare in Seminole, enjoys making afghans, lap robes and baby blankets. With cooler weather coming, this is the perfect time of year for her fingers to be flying. Unfortunately, Sharon has run out of four-ply yarn and on her limited budget, she is no longer able to buy all she needs. It might also be a perfect time, needleworkers, to reduce your inventory of unused yarn and yarn odds and ends. Sharon's number is (727) 319-5118 if you wish to make yarn appear magically in her work basket.

Frances Raymond of Spring Hill wants to know where she can scare up some tea infusers that would be suitable for making her special Christmas ornaments. They are metal with rows of holes encircling them. The rows are evenly spaced. Sound like something you've seen? Send your suggestions to Frances in care of this column.

Edna Mae Westendor of St. Petersburg is being haunted by ghostly fragments of a song that dates back to the late '20s and early '30s. She remembers a few words and some of the melody but hopes another reader has a fuller recall. The song My Mom goes (sort of): "My Mom, I love her/My Mom, you'd love her./Who wouldn't love her, my Mom./That sweet somebody, thinks I'm somebody/My pal, my buddy, my mom./Everything I do she's my only inspiration./Every time I'm blue she's my only consolation."

Edna's also looking for an 8-inch cast iron frying pan that she could put to good use when ghouls attack or when she makes corn bread. She may be reached at (727) 323-3477.

Dorothy Stein of Clearwater needs either sheet music or a tape of the song Sisters from the film White Christmas. It goes, "Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister, but Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man."

Be persistent when you call her at (727) 797-7400, ext. 502, says Dorothy; let it ring about 20 times.

Gwen Tuthill of St. Petersburg is bewitched by the three monkeys See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil and is looking for figurines depicting them to add to her collection. Her number is (727) 522-6777.

Gina Panepinto is looking for a surrogate body: That's Halloween-speak for an adjustable dress form, size B, which adjusts either with dials or wing nuts and rods. The fabric shop no longer carries this kind of form, and Gina has checked the thrift stores to no avail. Please call (352) 666-6519 if you can help.

If Evelyn Manfredi of Spring Hill can find the colonial full-size bedspread in white or off-white she has been looking for, she could throw it over her head and pretend to be a ghost, but she'd probably prefer to put it on the bed to replace the worn-out one. The spread she wants can be either a George and Martha Washington or a Queen Elizabeth brand. Do you have one that won't fit your new water bed, or do you know where to find one? Please call (352) 686-9241.

- Send requests to Reader Exchange, Newsfeatures, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg 33731 or e-mail cole@sptimes.com. Requests will be accepted only by mail or e-mail; no phoned requests, please. Readers must agree to publication of phone numbers to be considered for the column.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.