Sheese!
Well, that was a wild ride. But, hey, if you want to stay on safe terra firma your entire life and eat milk toast three times a day, I’m not thinking this column is for you.
One gentlemen wrote saying I had hit the hornets’ nest once too often with a stick, and he’s finished.
Other readers said there were more important things to write about — such as Egypt, the budget deficit and unemployment.
What I’m talking about — of course — was my earlier tongue-in-cheek column about changing the name of our beloved Vancouver to … “The Couv.”
I even had a fun contest — lunch with me as the prize — asking readers why this would be a good idea.
The column prompted several radio interviews and a TV interview.
I was on one radio program with Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt. The mayor took the opportunity to promote the many positive attributes of our city. (Free publicity, yea!)
He also took the opportunity to call my idea harebrained.
Fair enough.
What are the odds?
Now, what did I think the chances were that The Couv name would actually take hold? About the same odds that past and present politicians would say they love my column.
My hope was to create a discussion and to make a point: One needs to encourage harebrained ideas if one hopes to eventually come up with something revolutionary.
Forget The Couv for a second. What do the most creative businesses do? They encourage the concept that there are no bad ideas. Why? Because they know the only chance to find a gem among the duds is to celebrate those who come up with the duds.
You remember the 1950s saying, “Let’s run it up the flagpole and see who salutes it?”
Hey, that’s what I did. And, guess what, virtually no one saluted it.
Fair enough.
OK, so what about those who suggested I should be writing about Egypt and the deficit and such? Hey, we are. But not everything we do has to be so serious.
Willing to have fun
Now, I did find a few folks who enjoyed kicking the idea around. One business owner even bought the domain name, http://thecouvelocksmith.com.
“With all of your trail blazing with changing the name of our city, I’ve decided I liked it. Before reading your column the thought never occurred to me,” Richard Corvi said.
Corvi’s business still is named RAC Locksmith, but obviously he liked the idea enough to use the domain name as a way for customers to get to his website.
The lunch winner
And now it’s time to announce the winner. He is (dramatic pause required here) Larry Johnson!
He suggested a few ways to use The Couv name.
• “Tour d’Couv. Lots of bicyclists in the area. Bring in Lance ‘Be Strong’ Armstrong, run a route around the city’s perimeter, make mandatory pit stops for local wine tasting. Could be a moneymaker.
• “Da CouvLouvre. A special annex of the new library devoted to local art serving as a starting point for a walking tour of local historical sites and private galleries. Private entrepreneurs should love this.”
And how about this new word from Larry:
“Locals could be noted for their couvality.”
I asked Larry, a retired teacher, why he thought people were so angry about the idea.
“Who knows? There must be a local clinic specializing in the removal of funny bones and humor centers.”
Good line. Well, let’s hope folks show a little couvality to your ideas.
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505 or lou.brancaccio@columbian.com.
