Call Box: What number to dial for time of day?
Dear Call Box: A long time ago, there was a phone number that one could call to obtain the correct time. That phone number went by the wayside. Can you please find out what happened to the number or maybe advise another phone number for correct time.
V.J., Jacksonville
Dear V.J.: It's comforting to know that there are some institutions that go back to rotary phone days that are still around. To our surprise, we called the familiar number, (904) 358-1212, and a male voice gave the time and temperature all these years later. There are even several Internet threads devoted to the "time of day" era. On one thread, contributors from around the country recall the number in their city with some lamenting that the service had been discontinued.
In Jacksonville, participants said that it had been sponsored through the years by various banks and that apparently, at one point, it was no longer in service.
With the advent of the computer age, you can, of course, find the information online. Go to timeanddate.com/worldclock/usa/jacksonville for the time, temperature, tide table, sunrise and sunset information.
Dear Call Box: We went to Big John's Crumpy's Wings & Things on Southside Boulevard and discovered that it was closed with no notice on the door or anything. We've eaten there several times, and it was wonderful. Do you have any information on why it closed, or if it moved to another location?
J.C., Jacksonville
Dear J.C.: Times-Union food columnist Nancy White reported in April that Big John's closed its doors at both locations, 4021 Southside Blvd. and 808 Edgewood Ave. N. Big John is defensive tackle John Henderson, who played for the Jaguars from 2002-09. We contacted Aleviar Henderson, owner and wife of the former Jags player, who said that Big John's is using its Southside site for its catering business and is still running two family mobile barbecue trucks, Crumpy's Wings and Memphis Bar-B-Que & Blues.
Her mother's health issues had kept her busy in recent months, she said in the email.
"God has really been pushing me to push our catering," Aleviar Henderson said. "We are definitely still running our food trucks, and catering is our major focus right now."
Their catering menu includes their signature wings, of course, as well as spaghetti, chicken pot pie, baked chicken with mushroom sauce or rice casserole, smoked pulled pork, broccoli and chicken alfredo, lasagna, meatloaf and fish or shrimp with grits. For further information, email BigJohnsCrumpysCatering@gmail.com.
MORE ARMADILLOS
We heard from several readers who gave us their prescriptions for getting rid of those pesky armadillos. Laurie Latour said to soak plain ammonia (not lemon-scented) in paper towels and stick them in the holes or near where they are burrowing. It may require several treatments, and they might dig in another area. But keep it up, and eventually, they go elsewhere, Latour said, noting they are very sensitive to smell.
Another person said that his grandmother put mothballs in a plastic bag and hit them slightly with a hammer to make a sort of crystal dust. She mixed that with the dirt that the armadillo had scooped out and then refilled the hole. While they had a tendency to burrow at another spot, they eventually went away if the mothball dust was used at the other site, he said.
Two others said mothballs worked for them. "You can get rid of them without hurting them by putting mothballs down their holes, and they won't come back," one woman said, adding that the mothballs wash away when it rains and will need to be replenished.
However, there's a note of caution. Various sites said that moth balls are not good for the environment, are toxic and people should not touch them with their bare hands or inhale the fumes. Some say they work, and some say they don't.
Submit questions by calling (904) 359-4622 or mailing to Call Box, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Please include contact information. Sandy Strickland: (904) 359-4128