Remember the old history lesson about the Holy Roman Empire? It wasn`t really holy, not very Roman and not much of an empire. Glenn Singer of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel offers a similar perspective on Chemical Bank`s plans to absorb Manufacturer`s Hanover Trust: ”They didn`t manufacture anything, they weren`t based in Hanover and they certainly didn`t trust anyone.”
THAT`S GEORGE, MADAM Sometimes even presidents can be overlooked. At Queen Elizabeth`s dinner party this week at Buckingham Palace for the seven world leaders attending the Economic Summit, The New York Times reports, the wife of a foreign minister greeted President Bush warmly.
”Oh, Geoffrey,” she said. ”It`s so nice to see you.”
”I`m George Bush, president of the U.S.,” replied the commander in chief.
”Well,” sniffed the woman as she walked away. ”You sure look a lot like Geoffrey.”
Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady wouldn`t let their boss forget the incident. Throughout the next day they kept calling Bush ”Geoffrey.”
APPROVAL FROM BARB At least no one in London misidentified First Lady Barbara Bush who enjoyed the company of Prince William, 9, and Prince Harry, 6. She let the two boys and their mother, Princess Diana, visit the U.S. ambassador`s residence so they could see President Bush`s helicopter parked on the lawn. Mrs. Bush was most impressed with the royal lads, calling them ”better dressed than the Bush grandchildren,” and adding, ”They are just attractive young men . . . cute and polite.”
COUNTRY MUSIC`S BEST Singers Merle Haggard, George Jones and Ray Price head the list of the 1991 nominees for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. Other nominees are are singer-songwriter Don Gibson and the songwriting team of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. Boudleaux Bryant died in 1987. One inductee will be announced Oct. 2 at the Country Music Association awards show.
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN White Sox fans might agree, but the New York Yankees have become the first major league baseball team to be boycotted by the Arab League. An item about the boycott in the Jewish Week newspaper came to the attention of Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), who asked his Senate colleagues on Thursday: ”Does this mean the Yankees can`t hold spring training in Riyadh?” Jewish Week said the Yankees are No. 288 on a partial list of about 300 firms boycotted by the league. Yankees attorney David Sussman speculated the team may have made the list because a high percentage of the team`s management is Jewish, including himself. An Arab League spokesman told Jewish Week he had
”no knowledge about such things.” Arab countries officially refuse to do business with companies that do business with Israel, but the league has not publicized the boycott list. Jewish Week said other U.S. companies on the list include AT&T, Ford, Colgate Palmolive, Chrysler, Ford and American Express.
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THOSE OTHER JOBS Thursday`s Newsmakers ran a list of the 10 least stressful jobs, according to Men`s Health magazine. And what are some of the most stressful ones? The magazine lists inner-city school teacher, air traffic controller and (gasp!) newspaper editor.