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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > July > 01
Sunday, July 1, 2007
A lot of time behind wheel could pay off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For Jessi Kissinger, a 22-year-old Bruster’s ice cream shop employee from Alpharetta, sitting in a vehicle in center court at North Point Mall for a month as a radio station stunt is no big deal. She can handle the lack of books, Internet access and cellphones. Plus, she might win a 2007 Mercury Mariner.
But the overnight rat-a-tat-tat of jackhammers from workers renovating a nearby Gap store has left her badly sleep-deprived. And sleeping pills made her hallucinate.
Rodney Ho / AJC
“I thought a water bottle looked like the Virgin Mary at one point,” she told Buzz on Day 19.
Kissinger is one of five contestants left competing for the Mariner, courtesy of Star 94, which held similar contests in 1997 and 2002.
The wafer-thin Kissinger has also chosen to quit smoking and gain weight. Yes, gain weight. At 5 feet, 1 inch, she is now at 95 pounds, up from 88, thanks to a steady diet of doughnuts, crackers and candy bars.
She’s gotten used to answering the same questions from curious passers-by. How long are their breaks? (Answer: Ten minutes every three hours.) Do they shower? (The mall restrooms don’t have showers, so they use lots of baby wipes.) Doesn’t she have a job? (Kissinger says her Bruster’s bosses have been extremely kind.)
Then a middle-aged woman with a young daughter asked a question Kissinger hadn’t heard before while Buzz was in earshot: “Are you horny?”
Before Kissinger could come up with a witty reply, the woman turned and walked away.
Fellow contestant Evony Butler, an FNB teller and single mother from McDonough, badly needs a new car. (Her 1990 Toyota Previa has 256,000 miles on it, no air conditioning, no radio and occasionally emits smoke.) But Jason Bettis, a 19-year-old Chattahoochee Tech student and free-lance photographer with time on his hands, said he’s doing this for fun and that, if he wins the car, he’ll sell it and give the money to charity.
And how about this for cold? Bettis’ girlfriend of three years dumped him a week into the contest, two days before his birthday.
Two contestants will be voted off by the public this morning, another will be ousted July 9, and the winner will be picked by random drawing July 13. The value of the prize? $21,370, which the winner must pay taxes on.
RAMSEY HOLDING KIMMER’S AUDIENCE
Consumer advocate and syndicated talk show host Dave Ramsey celebrated his 15th anniversary on radio last week, though he’s been on the air in Atlanta for only three years, starting at 920/WGKA-AM. About six months ago, he took over Kim “The Kimmer” Peterson’s former slot on struggling 640/WGST-AM, and so far the early results show he’s at least holding the Kimmer’s numbers.
“WGST has been a huge feather in our cap,” said Ramsey, who is on 345 stations nationwide. “It’s very important for us to establish a strong foothold here and assist in turning things around.”
Ramsey, who works out of Nashville and can be heard from 3 to 7 p.m., knows this is Clark Howard country: “If I can take a sliver off of his sandal, I’ll be in good shape.”
He’ll be in town for a “Money Makeover” event Nov. 8 at Gwinnett Arena.
BROTHERS GIVE NEW LIFE TO OLD JUNK
A couple of Canadian dudes spent several days last November trolling the streets of Atlanta and Decatur searching for junk. (In fact, Buzz caught them in the act.)
But Steve and Jim Kelly had a reason: They were taping six episodes of their HGTV show “Junk Brothers.”
They took items such as a beat-up barbecue grill and a sad-looking bed frame and transformed them into something (they hope) the owners would like to keep in their homes instead of leaving on the curb.
“It’s a shame to see so many things get tossed in a landfill when they have potential to be saved,” Jim told Buzz. The barbecue grill actually had some sentimental value (the family’s late father used it all the time), and they were thrilled to see it back, he said.
The first Atlanta show is to air at 11 p.m. Wednesday.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Ron Silver (“The West Wing,” “Veronica’s Closet”) is 61. Writer-actor Larry David (right, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Seinfeld”) is 60. Model-actress Jerry Hall is 51. Singer Michelle Branch is 24. Actress Ashley Tisdale (“High School Musical”) is 22. Actress Lindsay Lohan is 21.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“They get me to the point where I don’t care anymore… . They beat me down. Well, I’m a warrior.”
Paula Abdul, on her new Bravo reality show “Hey Paula,” talking about the media’s portrayal of her
Contributing: news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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