WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The other day two co-workers and I were walking to the convenience store across the street from the paper. A tow truck was filling up at one of the store's gas pumps. Normally, I wouldn't have remarked about something so commonplace, but the name of the towing company grabbed my attention. "Sadisco Towing" was emblazoned on the truck's door.

Of course, it was a short leap into the gutter for me, and I began to speculate about the methods and motto of a towing company whose name is so close to sadism. I began to wonder whether the tow drivers carried riding crops with them. I began to wonder whether a typical tow contained this sort of dialogue: "So what seems to be the problem with your car?" "It won't start. I think the battery is dead." "That was very careless of you. You must be a bad driver ... a bad, naughty driver. And naughty drivers need discipline ... ."

And perhaps the motto could be something like "We're the tops in towing."

Well, maybe all that isn't such a good idea, but who knows? One day it might not be a big deal at all to see a car being hauled off somewhere, and instead of riding in the wrecker cab, the rescued driver is strapped to a St. Andrew's cross beside his car.