Boss Hogg look-a-like and tasty wheel burgers

        I meet some of the most interesting people in life.
        Take for instance a couple ladies I met last week at the Grinnell Post Office.
         I had stopped there to mail a couple packages of my books.
         The first lady said she thought she knew me.
         “I am J.O. Parker,” I told her, thinking she might connect me with the newspaper.
         “Do you know who you look like?” she said.
         “No,” I replied.
         “Boss Hogg,” she told me. “You look like Boss Hogg of the Dukes of Hazzard.”
          I wasn’t sure if that was a complement or if I was supposed to run and hide.
         “He’s your twin,” she said. “Everyone has a twin.”
          I told her I had met Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) at a car show back in the day in my hometown of Tulsa.
         She went to list the other characters in the popular 1970s and 80s show, saying that Roscoe is dead and so is Uncle Jesse.
          She liked Uncle Jesse, she said.
         She then explained to me what she was mailing. It was some sort of artwork that she did. I didn’t quite understand it as I finished taping up my packages and she stepped to the counter to mail her items.
          I was next in line and as I waited, another lady came into the post office.
        “You need to be careful,” she told me, referring to the ice melt covered steps outside the post office. “You don’t want to fall.”
          It had been slick earlier in the week and the post office tossed out a bucket of ice melt.
         “It’s tough when you get old,” she went on to say.
         “I’m 65,” I told her, adding that I had just signed up for Medicare.
          She couldn’t believe it that I was 65. I can’t either.
          “You got good genes,” she let me know as I thanked her.
           That’s a nice thing to say and a compliment to my parents.
          The Dukes of Hazzard was a great show and I rarely missed an episode. I remember riding with my dad on many Friday nights to the Chuckwagon drive in on north Sheridan in Tulsa and picking up four wheel burgers and French fries for supper with the family. The eatery was shaped like a covered wagon and their specialty was the wheel burger. We’d go to the take out window and carry the food home where my folks, my brother and I would enjoy supper while watching the Duke of Hazard and Dallas.
        Those were some of the greatest memories of my growing up days as was Christmastime and the many August vacations we took in dad’s 1967 Chevrolet C-10 pickup to places like Nashville, Disneyland and Niagara Falls.
       I was already out of high school when the Dukes of Hazzard started airing. I didn’t go out too much during that time in my life and often hung around at home.
        I also enjoyed watching “The Incredible Hulk” on television. My brother and I got to meet Lou Ferrrigno (who played the Hulk in the show along with Bill Bixby) at a Tulsa mall J.C. Penneys many years ago.
        Anyway, when I got home that evening, I found a photo of Boss Hogg on the internet and a recent photo of me. I posted them on my Facebook page asking folks to share their thoughts if I was the Boss’ twin.
       One person said I was his twin. Another suggested I buy a white cowboy hat and see. One couple said I was way better looking. And another asked if I was letting everyone know what costume I needed for Halloween 2025.
       I have some similarities to the Boss, but I wouldn’t go as far as being his twin. I think I will pass on the Halloween costume, but do like the white hat idea.
      Like me, everyone loved the Boss and his relentless crooked pursuit of the Duke Boys and his on-going badgering with Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and his dog, Flash.
      I loved his white Cadillac and large white hat with his big cigar and his huge appetite. It was a classic television show from the good old days.
        It was fun to visit with the lady and if anything, I appreciated the memories and a laugh.
       I hope everyone has the best Christmas with family and friends. Take a few days off work and the hustle and bustle of life and enjoy the holidays. Time spent with family is never wasted and the never-ending pile of work and meetings will be there when you get back.
        And always remember, it’s better to give than to receive!
        Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day