Losing for Dummies
by Alamo Cruise, “The Hopeless Loser” 

“You don’t have to be stupid to work here, but you’re never going to get workman’s comp with that attitude.”

I don’t like mechanics. Every time my car breaks down and I take it in they asked me if I did something and they already know the answer. “Did you do the regular maintenance thingmajig we told you?” Duh, dumbass, if I did it do you think I would be back here two days later? Then they tell me I should get a road plan for towing and shit since I’m in the shop every week. Nice job, jerk-offs. You don’t sell somebody something by making them feel stupid. Unless you’re selling those “For Dummies” books, I guess.

I have lots of those “For Dummies” books, because they’re my favorites. I’ve got Surfing for Dummies, Sex for Dummies, Jingoism for Dummies, Safari for Dummies, and Antidisestablishmentarianism for Dummies. I didn’t even get through the cover for that one. Best of all, I got all the books for free, since I got Shoplifting for Dummies. I should have picked that one up first, but it’s easy to second-guess after the arrest.

The worst one I ever got was Self-Esteem Building for Dummies. I read the whole book and only felt more like an idiot. After all, only a real shithead would finish a book for dummies.

The dummies books are real popular now. They even have people copying them. They have books for idiots, books for novices, books for attention-deficit disorder sufferers, all kinds of things. There’s probably a better way to do it. I sure wouldn’t want someone calling me a dummy, if I weren’t such a retard. So there’s a whole market out there you can tap into. I would call them “Books for Smart Dudes Who Have to Explain Things to Dummies All the Time.” You just re-print the same book. The only difference is you put in stuff before it, like, “Okay, you and me already know this, but pretend this total knob asks you to put it in simple terms for him…” That way no one’s feelings get hurt and you feel pretty suave and get all the same information anyway.

If I was going to do a book for dummies, I would figure out why they’re dummies. I could call it, Why You’re a Dummy. Or Why You Can’t Buy a Regular Book. The whole thing is a huge scam. It’s all the same stuff dummies wouldn’t read because they were intimidated before. In fact, I’m going to make a fortune because I’m going to reprint all my columns and just put “for Dummies” on the end of the titles. And charge them, ‘cause dummies will pay for anything. It will help me pay back for all that merchandise they want reimbursement for.

Fresh Step
I wish I could dance, but not everybody was meant to dance. John Travolta and that fruity guy with the top hat in old movies. And old dancing was easier to do. It usually meant just finding a room that would turn upside down and then right side up and moving your legs around while holding a cane.

Target Friendly
It would be great if license plates said real stuff about the state. Texas would be like “We grow assholes daily!” and Florida would be “Most likely to secede!” Rhode Island’s could be “Who?”

Lasorda Frisbee
For real, those CD cases used to piss me off. I would open the box and expect a real long metal thing you could put in a CD player. Instead there would just be a smaller case with a silver disc inside. That package was so long I always felt completely ripped off that there was only one CD in there.