The American economy has seen a few rough winters. So it makes sense that a strong sign of resurgence comes in the form of L.L. Bean’s sturdy duck boot. Most news in the business pages these days involves layoffs, plants closing, more jobs sent overseas. It was heartening to see the Boston Globe’s recent piece about the runaway popularity of L.L. Bean’s classic boot. Sales have increased from 150,000 pairs four years ago to about 400,000 this year. Next year, the projected number is 500,000. They’ve added 125 full-time employees to keep up with the demand. And these employees aren’t cranking these kickers out in a sweatshop in China. They’re working at L.L. Bean headquarters in Maine, getting paid a living wage to make a solid product. The iconic retro appeal of the boots goes beyond the fact that they look cool. They’re also made in the U.S.A and come with a lifetime guarantee. That’s something you don’t see too often anymore. We’re tired of hearing companies complain that the only way to stay in business is to jump ship and go cheapo. It’s still possible to make a quality product in the U.S.A. and have it succeed. Let’s hear the blowhard political candidates talk about that.

Police in Waltham have arrested a poor S.O.B. who was decked out in (admittedly unearned) medals and service ribbons. The guy really is a former Marine, but apparently not one of the Corps’ finest. He was dishonorably discharged.  He held onto the uniform, though, and probably purchased some medals online.  Thing is, he was actually doing some good in the get-up. He was arrested on the way to a Toys For Tots benefit and said he thought of the decorated uniform as a way to get more presents for the organization. He wasn’t swindling funds or boosting presents. Wasn’t trying to pick up chicks. The way we see it, he was putting the uniform to good use. What’s all the fuss about? We gonna arrest the tubby part-timer in the shopping mall food court because he ain’t really Santa? It’s Christmas, folks. Give the guy a break.

If they don’t, who the hell wants to go?

If you ever went on a budget vacation in a seaside town in New England, you’ve probably rested your duff — or at least hung your bathing suit to dry — on a Solair chair. During the Solair’s heyday in the ‘70s, it’s said that the Canadian manufacturer would schlep up and down the East Coast peddling the chairs to motel owners with an eye for space age patio furniture.

According to a piece in last week’s Boston Globe, the Solair is making a comeback. The Italian-designed chair has become a sought-after item by everyone from high-end architects and designers to folks who see the futuristic-looking chair as a nostalgic reminder of childhood vacations. People have been tracking down the chairs for years on eBay and in vintage shops, some even going as far as stealing the few that are left in their original posts outside roadside motels.

Luckily for them, the chair has gone into production again, at the original manufacturing plant. You can find ‘em online or at Machine Age in Boston, among a handful of other outlets.

Just goes to show that a cool design and a product that people have an emotional connection to can inspire a consumer loyalty that lasts.

Last Sunday’s New York Times had an interesting piece about the dwindling number of nuns in leadership roles at Catholic hospitals. The article focuses on Sister Mary Jean Ryan, a tough old buzzard who just retired from her position as chief executive of SSM Health Care, one of the country’s largest networks of Catholic hospitals. When Sister Mary Jean entered the game as a nurse in 1960, every department of every Catholic hospital was run by a nun. When she retired, there were only 11 nuns left among SSM’s 22,000 employees.

While we’d never argue for more nuns in schools (a brutal regime that’s also on the decline), it is a sad thing to see them disappear from a health care system almost totally given over to the pursuit of profit above all else. There is worry that many of a Catholic hospitals’ core values — helping the needy, discounting treatment for the poor, offering charity care to the uninsured, among others– may be eroded even further without the sisters’ bulldog presence.

The nuns were good for business too. Even better than the bottom-line corporate types, many of whom Sister Mary Jean (who worked for free) described as “arrogant” and “overpaid.” During Sister Mary Jean’s reign, operating revenues at SSM more than quintupled. She also initiated programs to make the hospitals more green, paid the blue collar workers above scale and provided compassionate patient care.

It’s definitely an end of an era for Catholic hospitals. But if they want to recruit more nuns they better get cracking. In 2009, 91-percent of of them penguins were over 60. And Sister Mary Jean’s order hasn’t had a new member for 25 years.

Hats off to Levi Strauss & Co. and Rökk Vodka for having the courage to advance positive messages about same-sex marriage yesterday in the pages of the New York Times. Both companies ran full-page ads congratulating New York on following the lead of Massachusetts and other states (Massachusetts will always be the first) in granting same-sex couples the right to marry.

That took guts. Yes, polls show that a slim majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, but slim is the operative word there. To be precise, the number currently stands at 53%. And the thing about the other 47% is that a good number of them are passionate in their opposition.

So that’s Rökk and Levi’s putting a substantial volume of sales at risk to take a meaningful stand. You can’t fail to respect that. The people to whom it matters most certainly won’t forget it. And it’s fairly apparent that history will look fondly on both companies for their stand on the issue.

Still, it’s refreshing to see big companies choosing not to sit on the sidelines on a progressive issue. Not that it’s anything entirely new for either player. Rökk has an history of supporting issues important to gays and lesbians (it also has a sponsorship relationship with The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination). And as President Robert Hanson pointed out on the company blog yesterday, Levis has a long tradition of supporting civil rights.

All that said, there’s the matter of that 47% of America.

So what kind of a brand statement was made with those ads? This kind: Levis and Rökk told America they believe in same-sex marriage and they’re not afraid to say so. They told consumers that they have the confidence to stand behind their beliefs. And as we’ve said before, these days people don’t just want to know who you are; they want to know what you stand for. No one who saw those ads will ever be able to call Levis or Rökk a nameless, faceless corporation. That goes a long way.

This is how you make a brand statement. California Skateparks has designed some unbelievable skateboard facilities (seriously, you have to go check out their web site; you’ll be impressed even if you don’t give half a damn about skating). But in their world, you’re only as good as you are fun and daring. Creating the world’s biggest skateboard is a good way to show that you’re both. And taking it out to places like Pennsylvania’s action sports Mecca Camp Woodward is a good way to dial your core constituency into the fun.

It’s starting to look like Christian Lopez maybe isn’t so stupid, after all. Lopez is the New York Yankees fan who caught Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit home run ball on Saturday then gave it back to the third baseman, asking nothing in return. He was laughed at early on, a reasonable response given that the ball was estimated to be worth upwards of $200,000 and that Jeter, though he’s almost universally praised as a high character guy, doesn’t exactly donate his services to the Yanks. But he got good notice in the press, including some very high praise from Jason Gay in The Wall Street Journal. And then the rewards started rolling in. To date, he’s received season tickets from the Yankees, an offer by Miller Brewing to pay the $14,000 tax bill he was facing for the gift of those tickets, an expected payout of about $50,000 from Modell’s Sporting Goods, and, probably coolest of all, a commitment by Topps to give Lopez his own baseball card in 2012. If this keeps up, it won’t be long before 200,000 seems like chump change.