January 30, 2020: Supply Chain Constraints, Higher Demand, Goo -

The reasons Grape Nuts are in short supply are two: Supply chain constraints, and higher demand. Also, the machinery used to create Grape Nuts is specialized, and the company can't just tool up immediately.  Well, duh.

There's a whole article here, sent to me by what Dave Barry always calls an "alert reader," but you don't need to read it, because it tells you nothing you didn't know already from reading this news-breaking blog several days ago, i.e., Grape Nuts are out til spring some time and they are neither grapes nor nuts.

One friend's husband asked him to tell me about alternatives to Grape Nuts, and I said thank you, but in truth, I still have my box of Grape Nuts. They aren't a daily thing with me, more a once-in-a-long-while thing. My box is months old, but of course, Grape Nuts cannot stale, being stale at birth. I could, apparently, sell it for $60, but it's been opened. I'm just going to let it sit there, in case all other foodstuffs become scarce. 

Other alert readers sent me info about slippers. Not MY slippers, but slippers nonetheless. One wanted me to know that her slippers have nice soles, which is a huge selling point, if mine never get back into production.

Another reader wanted me to know that his slippers are twenty years old, and held together with duct tape and Shoe Goo. He was a bit boastful about it, and included a picture. Those slippers don't look a day over 50. 

Which makes me wonder: when was Shoe Goo was invented? (Stops. Looks it up.) 1972!! Look at that! 49 years ago! I rest my case. 

The story of Shoe Goo, unlike the Grape Nuts article, is fascinating, and full of heartwarming, can-do entrepreneurial Americana like aerospace industry execs and spaghetti pots and garages and a company called Eclectic Industries. There's even a groaner pun about the company finally "getting a foothold" on the market. I read the whole page aloud, it was so good. Thus I learned that before there was Shoe Goo, there was Barge Cement. Actually, there is still Barge Cement, and the very first hit when you search for Barge Cement is "Barget Cement vs. Shoe Goo." I kid you not. 

But back to my slipper story. Yet another reader - claiming to be writing at the behest of a friend - wanted to know if I wore my slippers with socks, and if not, how often I washed them. I told her I had made a vow never to discuss slipper hygiene with anyone, and that sadly, her "friend" was on her own. Boundaries.