YOUR AD HERE »

Summit Up 7-20-09

PIKA CHOO
Special to the Daily/Bill Linfield
ALL |

Good morning and welcome to Summit Up, the world’s only daily column doing double time as a sleuth in The Case of Some Missing Gum. And it isn’t what it seems. No one stole our gum, and we definitely didn’t misplace it.

We’re the first to admit that we’ve developed an obsessive relationship with Orbit gum – raspberry mint and citrus mint are our favorite flaves. We’re never without, and we love to blow bubbles (two pieces at a time are best for this endeavor).

We were blowing bubbles at our desk recently, minding our own business, typing away, when it happened. We blew though our gum with such force that it popped from our mouth and onto our lap. We thought.



So, we looked down. No gum. We surveyed the floor. No gum. We checked our lap. NO GUM! We stood up and looked at our chair. Still no gum.

We’re seriously concerned at this point. We start frantically feeling around our shirt, our hair, our rear end. NO GUM!



We look at the bottom of our shoes. NO GUM!

We walk over to the intern and ask him to look for gum as we turn around in circles – NO GUM!

He’s like “I don’t see anything,” so we give up and sit down at our desk. An unsettled feeling takes over our soul.

Are we going craaazy?

About an hour later, after much mulling and fretting, we pat our stomach. The gum has lodged itself on our tummy. We’re guessing it fell down our shirt.

And so concludes our one-hour mystery.

The lost gum got us thinking. With such a sticky consistency, how does one remove it from clothes, hair, furniture, pets, you name it? We’re guessing ice. Freezing it would likely make it easier to peel, right?

***

Gum has also played a role in making friends abroad. During a trip to Italy in college, we were walking around Venice (without a buddy. Yes, it’s sad, we know), when we noticed a girl walking around with a wad of green gum on her rear. So, we walk up to her and we say, “Uh, you have gum on your butt.” And a friendship blossomed that exists to this day, seven years later, though she now lives in Brooklyn and is oh-so Neeew York.

E-mail us at summitup@summitdaily.com with gum stories and tips for removing it.

***

And in animal news, we’ve got some great pictures in today’s Summit Up, including osprey and a little furry rabbit-like creature we hear is called a pika.

Now, this fluffy creature is disgustingly cute and we want to take it home and dress it up in ribbons. But, we won’t because a) we don’t have one and b) that’s just not humane.

We also used this cute creature as an education tool – we’ve learned that pikas are actually cousins with rabbits. They’re even known as rock rabbits because they usually live on rocky mountain sides. And pikas living at high altitude are more active during daylight hours.

Pikas are also called coneys, but we haven’t got a clue why.

***

In weekend news – For those beer-samplers out there who partook in the Breckenridge Beer Festival Saturday, we’re sending out kudos to the two brave men wearing lederhosen, the little kid who was break dancing, the cute old man shaking his tush, and Oakhurst, a Denver-based bluegrass band with all the moves.

This beer-focused event included amazing free music. Everyone seemed to be greatly appreciating the many beer options, and the mishmash of music and dancing was irresistible.

***

In yummy-in-the-tummy, to die for food news, we absolutely must recommend the fabulously tasty ahi tuna with coconut rice dish at Modis in Breckenridge.

Out taste buds are seriously impressed. We cleared our plate and wished for more.

Cheers to the chef! We compliment your skills. And we definitely plan to come back for more in the hopefully very near future.

***

We’re out, blowing the biggest, fruit-tastic bubble. Ever. Just hope it doesn’t disappear on us …


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.