There’s a perception that if you see someone over the age of 70 still on the job somewhere, you’re probably looking at someone who couldn’t afford to retire. But as The Boston Globe pointed out in this feature about a group of older (and we mean older, one of them is 91) workers at Phillips Family Hospitality in Dorchester, that’s not always the case. Some people just don’t want to stop working. And that’s not terrible news for employers. Hey, business owners may feel like they want the energy younger workers bring to the job, but having some old timers on staff can be a major plus. These folks are loyal and service oriented. They’ve seen it all and they know what really matters. And, best of all, they’re working because that’s what they want. That’s a kind of attitude and energy that can only help, no matter what business you’re in.

Three reasons to like The Boston Globe’s report from Saturday on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ efforts to increase the number of highway rest stop farmers markets.

First, as the story points out, it gives truckers (and other motorists) the option of picking up something healthy at locations better known for offering greasy burgers and those hot dogs that look like they’ve been sitting on the rollers since the Eisenhower Administration.

Second, it gives local farmers a chance to capture business they otherwise would have no chance of gettin. Because, face it, you’re not getting cars and trucks off the highway for to find a farm stand when there are rest stops offering bathrooms, coffee and ancient Egyptian hot dogs (they called them Frankfurter sandwiches back in King Tut’s day, of course) every 15 miles.

Third, and this is maybe the best thing about the story, it’s great so see the positive reaction the markets are getting from the franchisees paying big bucks to locate their restaurants inside the rest stops. It’s good to see business owners who get the big picture. Sure, you might lose a few burger sales to travelers who’d rather munch a carrot on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, but it’s not likely to be more than one or two — a total way offset by the extra foot traffic the markets generate at a time when healthy, local and farm fresh are trending in a major way. A great idea well executed — within the context of an entrenched Massachusetts state government bureaucracy, no less. Very encouraging.

Goodbye Mr. LaMotta. And God bless you. We’re all a bit fatter and a lot happier because of your great idea.

Middle name: Period. Last name: T.

Our hero, known to almost no one as Laurence Tureaud, is 58  years old today. Happy birthday, fool.

Sometimes attempting to reenergize a troubled brand is like wading through marshmallow fluff. Other times not so much. Like when you’re Adidas and you can help make your $3.8 billion investment in Reebok pay off by introducing a shoe that supposed to help women develop killer patoots. According to the Wall Street Journal, the strategy is working. That’s not exactly a shock. Almost nothing motivates people like vanity.

If you missed it or skipped it at the time, you should take a couple of minutes now to go back and read The New York Times‘ April 17 Small Business section feature story on Hangers Cleaners. And don’t stop after three paragraphs. Yeah, Hangers is an environmentally friendly dry cleaner. But that’s not what the story is about. The story is about a small business that found itself forced to compete against a big corporation – and is succeeding. How? By sticking with the business model that worked before the big guy came on the scene, a model that focuses on providing outstanding customer service and offering a service customers can’t get elsewhere: pickup and delivery. And by maintaining a quirky, personality-driven branding approach. Hangers owner Joe Runyan explains it to the Times this way: “We have a personality in a business devoid of it. We can’t out-price or out-spend our big competitor, but we can be genuine, funny and edgy.” Pair that thinking with a good product and you win. Hangers is proving it.

Not for nothing, but it just doesn’t get any cooler, than Lego Minifigures. We’re buying as many mystery bags as it takes to get the caveman. (The robot, too.)

Two reasons to read this Generation B column from the April 29 New York Times. One is that it’s a damned interesting read, a great glimpse into an industry everyone has some relationship with but that remains pretty mysterious to most. (And Bernard Ros is a fascinating subject.) The second is that it provides a nice reminder of the fact that, easy (and useful) as the internet may be, the most authentic and most productive social networking still happens face-to-face. That’s worth remembering no matter what your goals are, but it’s particularly important if, like most business decision makers these days, you’re biggest concern is hunting down leads and keeping the volume up.

If you don’t love Wiffle Ball, you’ve got some problems. Big ones maybe. Or maybe you’re some kind of alien. Because not loving Wiffle Ball means not loving fun. It’s a simple as that. We love Wiffle Ball enough to stop playing – long enough to read Wiffle Ball: The Ultimate Guide, which, on top of being about as fun looking a book as you’re gonna find, is a nice little exercise in branding. Written by Michael Hermann, president of Wiffle’s branding firm, Wicked Cow Entertainment, the book does a great job of extending a brand message without getting into anything approaching heavy sell. Hermann tells the Wiffle story, runs down some technique, and gets into the Wiffle culture – with celebrity takes on the game, a look at some great Wiffle Ball parks – and has a lot of fun doing it. A fun little book about one of the best backyard games ever invented. (Have we mentioned lately that fun sells?)

You don’t have to be in the market for wicked cool guy stuff to have fun checking out Uncrate. (Though, you know, Fathers Day is only a little more than a month away. Just saying.) You don’t have to be in the market for anything. Sometimes it’s just good to know that products like the Silver Tears Camper and Star Wars GPS voices exist. (Though, again, Fathers Day. June 20. In case you were wondering.)