Recovery Reader The October 2018
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FROM THE DESK OF Dan
With Halloween around the corner, scary stories are on the rise. While most scary stories involve an evil character in a mask and someone yelling for help, not all scary stories are that predictable. Most of the horror stories I hear go something like this: “Help! My tenants left me to hold the bag (and it wasn’t full of candy) and the place is trashed! How do I get those ghouls to pay?” Instead of good, rent-paying tenants who treat the property with respect, a nightmare of unpaid rent and damaged property ensues. We provide quality housing for our tenants, charge a fair rental rate, and in return we expect to be treated with timely rent payments and to have our property treated with care. So how do we avoid being tricked? Good screening, clear leases, and a good relationship with the tenant are a start. But when you are tricked, it’s time to treat that ex-tenant with a trick of your own. Hiring a professional ghoul hunter that can put the candy (cash) back in your bag. Want to know more about how we turn scary stories into cash in your pocket.
SPOOKY TALES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY Appropriate Ghost Stories for Any Age
Ghost stories are a rite of passage this time of the year, but sometimes it can be hard to determine what stories will be appropriate for kids. If you have a youngster who is a budding scare-o-phile, here are some stories you can feel safe telling them.
Feel free to shape these stories into your own. Knowing the age of your audience and what kind of spooks they enjoy will help you craft your tale.
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
This story is perfect for little historians and those who love maritime tales.
Legend has it that ship captain Hendrick van der Decken and his crew have haunted the Cape of Good Hope ever since a storm ravaged their ship more than 450 years ago. Van der Decken was an avid seaman and captain of The Flying Dutchman. In the midst of a horrifying storm, he insisted that the ship keep pressing ahead. His crew begged him to change course, but, according to folklore, his famous response was “We’ll sail for eternity!” Van der Decken and his crew vanished in the storm, but sailors over the past five centuries have often claimed to see a mist-shrouded boat sailing toward them, only for it to disappear from their sight as they drew near. Sailors warn that if a ship crosses paths with The Flying Dutchman, it spells doom for the ship’s occupants.
Call me today.
Trick or Treat ...
- Dan Larson
TIP: Characters and locations in this story can vary depending on your location and audience.
Continued on page 2 ...
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Cover story, continued ...
THE PINK JELLY BEAN
WHERE’S MY HAIRY TOE?
The woman was never seen again. Her neighbors, having heard the commotion the night before, found only a single large footprint outside her house in the morning.
If you’re looking for some suspense with a happy ending, your own version of The Pink Jelly Bean is your safest bet. Here’s an example: There was a dark forest into which no one ventured alone. In the forest was a shack, the spooky setting of numerous gory tales. On stormy nights, it was said that the shack came alive. One night, brave travelers came across the shack and decided to stay for the night just as a storm was brewing. Suddenly, a gust of wind blasted the door open and flashes of lightning lit up the shack to reveal something in the middle of the shuttered living room:
This story is perfect for youngsters under the age of 10, especially if you’re still gauging their fright level. Long, long ago, an old woman was tending to her garden when she discovered a hairy toe. She had not had a fruitful harvest that year, so when she returned to her cottage, she reluctantly ate the toe and settled into a quiet evening at home. But she kept hearing a low voice moaning, “Where’s my h-a-i-r-r-r-y t-o-e-e-e?”With every repetition, the voice increased in intensity. Mysterious thumps, groans, and demands for the toe echoed throughout the house all night. Just as she was falling asleep, her front door flew open, and there stood a giant demanding his hairy toe be given back. The old woman, fed up with the begging nonsense, screamed, “I ate your hairy toe!” Calmly, the giant responded, “I know.”
It was a peculiar print — it only had four toes!
TIP: Draw out this story by describing what the woman sees and hears all night, and play around with different voices for the giant.
… a pink jelly bean!
TIP: The goal is to stretch this story out for as long as you can before the final reveal. Add more doors, characters, and creepy objects — whatever it takes to build the suspense.
Marketing Horror Stories A Lesson in What Not to Do
KFC AND HOOVER CAN’T DO MATH A shocking number of companies hold giveaway promotions without calculating exactly howmuch they will cost. Here are a few examples. • Back when“Oprah”was the biggest show on television, KFC ran an ad offering a free two-piece chickenmeal with two sides and a biscuit for anyone who went to their website and downloaded a coupon. Over 10.5 million coupons were downloaded, and KFC had to give away $42 million in free food. • In the 1990s, Hoover Company in the United Kingdomoffered two round-trip plane tickets with the purchase of a vacuum. Unfortunately, even in the‘90s, most vacuums were still cheaper than plane tickets, and Hoover lost 50 million pounds in what remains the biggest promotional disaster ever. CARTOON NETWORK CAUSES A BOMB SCARE Guerrilla marketing can create valuable word of mouth— think about the success of the movie“IT”last year. The marketing for the film included simple red balloons tied to stormdrains. But Cartoon Network didn’t have quite the same luck in 2007 when they tried to promote their show“Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”When the network put electronic devices featuring a character from the show all over Boston, city residents thought the strange contraptions looked like bombs and called the police. This triggered a terrorist scare that ultimately cost the general manager of Cartoon Network his job.
Every marketing professional wants their campaign to be memorable. They want consumers to take notice—or take the bait —andmake their company a big profit. But sometimes, things don’t go exactly as planned. The campaigns below certainly won the attention of consumers, but in each case, what started out as a marketing dreamquickly turned into a nightmare. FIAT’S DIRECT MAIL DISASTER In 1992, women across Spain received anonymous letters inviting them to go on a“little adventure.”The letters stated,“We met again on the street yesterday, and I noticed how you glanced interestedly inmy direction.” Fearing a stalker, many women locked themselves in their homes. A few days later, another letter arrived, revealing the identity of the“secret admirer” as the new Fiat Cinquecento. Yes, the creepy letters were part of a marketing campaign by the Italian car company. Fiat apologized and ended the campaign after criticism from consumer protection groups, Social Minister Cristina Alberdi, and the 50,000 women who received the letters.
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The History of Trick-or-Treating WHY THERE ARE KIDS ONYOUR PORCH ASKING FOR CANDY
As Halloween looms and you load up your grocery cart with candy, you may ask yourself, “Why do I provide these spooky gremlins with a sugar high every Oct. 31, anyway?”Well, when your doorbell starts ringing around 6 p.m. this All Hallows’ Eve, you can thank the Celts for this tradition of candy and costumes. Halloween itself is a kind of mishmash of four different cultural festivals of old: two Roman fêtes, which commemorated the dead and the goddess of fruit and trees (not at the same time); the Celtic Samuin or Samhain, a new year’s party thrown at the end of our summer; and the Catholic All Saint’s Day, designed to replace Samuin and divorce it from its pagan origins. Long before there were young’uns on your porch dressed as Thanos with candy-filled pillowcases in hand, the Celts believed that Samuin marked an overlapping of the realms of the living and the dead. To trick the spirits leaking into our world, young men donned flowing white costumes and black masks — a great disguise when ghosts were about.
The Catholic Church was never a big fan of these pagan traditions, so they renamed it “All Saints’ Day” and gussied it up in religious garb. By the 11th century, people were dressing up as saints, angels, and the occasional demon instead of spirits. Eventually, costumed children started tearing through town begging for food and money and singing a song or prayer in return — a practice called “souling.” But when did they start dressing up as Minions? Starting in the 19th century, souling turned to “guising,” which gave way to trick-or- treating in mid-20th-century America, and the costumes diversified. So put on some clown makeup and a big smile, scoop up a handful of sweets, and scare the living daylights out of ‘em — ‘tis the season!
Take a Break!
Spiced
PUMPKIN SEED CRUNCH
Ingredients
•
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds
•
1 large egg white
•
1 teaspoon light agave syrup
•
1/4 cup raw cashews, coarsely chopped
•
1/2 teaspoon garam masala or curry powder
•
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•
1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
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Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Directions
4. Using a slotted spoon,
1. Heat oven to 300 F.
strain spoonfuls of mixture over bowl and transfer to baking sheet. Discard excess egg white mixture.
2. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk
together egg white, agave, salt, and spices. Add nuts and seeds and toss until evenly coated.
5. Bake 20–25 minutes, tossing once.
6. Let cool and serve.
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Dan PAGE 1 Scary Stories to Tell Youngsters PAGE 1
Would You SurviveThese Marketing Nightmares? PAGE 2 The Surprising Origins of Trick-or-Treating PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Spiced Pumpkin Seed Crunch PAGE 3 October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month PAGE 4 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Organized, in the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s words, to“honor those at every step of the breast cancer journey,”the annual observance has also served to educate the public and raise funds for research. Learnmore about this deadly but survivable disease, and find out how you can help. According to the NBCF, 1 in 8 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives. It is the second leading cause of death in women (behind heart disease). A breast cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence, however. Thanks to research and ongoing education, there are over 3.3 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today. WHAT CAUSES BREAST CANCER? Breast cancer is caused by damage to cells’ DNA. It’s most common in women over the BREAST CANCER IS EXTREMELY COMMON.
EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES Do You or Someone You Love Need to Schedule a Mammogram?
if they have a family history of the disease). The Affordable Care Act (ADA) requires all health insurance plans to cover the cost of annual mammograms for women age 40 and older, and there are many organizations devoted to providing free mammograms to uninsured individuals. to learn how to help. The NBCF funds cancer research, works to provide free mammograms to low-income women, and serves as a resource for patients and their families. Many cities also have local organizations in need of donations and volunteers. YOU CANMAKE A DIFFERENCE. Visit Donate.nationalbreastcancer.org
age of 40, though approximately 2,500 men in the U.S. are diagnosed each year as well. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. Most risk factors, such as age, gender, and family history, cannot be changed. However, research shows that exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy diet and weight, andminimizing alcohol consumptionmay reduce your chance of being diagnosed with the disease. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may also place you at higher risk. Contrary to popular myths, breast cancer is not caused by milk, microwave ovens, cellphones, caffeine, plastic cutlery, or deodorants. ANNUAL MAMMOGRAMS ARE FREE. Early detection is the biggest factor in breast cancer survival. There’s some debate among researchers and insurance companies over the“right”age to begin screening, but most sources agree that women should begin to get regular mammograms in their 40s (and earlier
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