Venus and Subway

Saipan’s west side gets most of the attention, so here’s one for the easterners: An alert reader sent an email asking about a dazzling bright object over the eastern horizon. It appeared about an hour before sunrise.

The reader suspected that it was a planet but didn’t recall seeing such a thing before. So, what’s going on?

Given Saipan’s woes lately, it’s tempting to hope that the light is a mother ship from Andromeda sent to rescue the worthy from their earthborn travails. I’m thinking first-class seats for the worthies who are kind to stray dogs, who finish their broccoli, and who don’t bogart your last cigarette.

Alas, no such luck. It is, in fact, a planet. It’s Venus.

Despite the dramatic sight, it doesn’t get much buzz in the general media. But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette carried an article about it on Sept. 8. Its coverage even included an illustration, so I’ve been one-upped yet again.

For reasons of cosmic, orbital peek-a-boo, Venus is looking freak-you-out bright about an hour before sunrise these days, and when it’s close to the horizon the atmospherics turn it into quite a disco ball. In fact, it’s dazzling enough to cause people to report it as a UFO.

By next summer the sun will overtake Venus as they race each other through the sky. Venus will then return to being a western, sundown object. And then life can get back to being boring again and we can settle back into our usual routines.

Oh, well. Hey, Buddy, can you spare a cig?

•••

The Associated Press reports that Fred DeLuca, the co-founder of Subway, has passed away. He was 67.

I like Subway sandwiches, but I never gave any thought to the origins of the company. When I read the news about DeLuca, I noticed an intriguing figure that inspired me to look into the story a bit.

But first, some scale: Based on number of restaurants, this is the largest restaurant company in the world. The brand covers 44, 274 stores globally.

For example, the site lists Guam with 14 Subways, the NMI with three, the Marshall Islands with one. China, 518; Philippines, 27; Japan, 457; Taiwan, 129; Thailand, 63.

Venturing further afield? Afghanistan has two, Malta has six, Iceland has 23, and Zambia has eight. So Subway’s got you covered from A-to-Z.

If I ever take a trip to Mars, I’m sure my first meal there will be a Cold Cut Combo.

Anyway, the news story about DeLuca mentions that Subway’s roots run back 50 years. When I read that I thought, hey, just wait-a-minute here, you guys said that DeLuca was 67. Are you telling me that this global empire was launched by a mere 17-year-old? That’s what intrigued me.

And that is, apparently, the way things went. As the story goes, DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from a family friend and the two opened up a sandwich joint in Connecticut so DeLuca could earn money for college. Which brings us to the other co-founder, the family friend named Peter Buck. Buck sure didn’t need any money for college, since he already held a Ph.D. in physics from Columbia.

Speaking of money, Forbes lists Buck’s net worth at $3.6 billion, and estimates DeLuca’s at $3.5 billion.

The name of their first restaurant wasn’t Subway, and, in fact, it wasn’t even a success. But they stuck with it and improved things, changed the name to Subway, and started selling franchises in 1974.

According to Entrepreneur magazine, all of the Subways are franchises; the total investment to start one is $116,600 to $263,150; the franchise fee is $15,000; and it takes from eight to 10 employees to staff a franchise.

As for DeLuca, he shared his insights in a book, Start Small Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start – and Run – Your Own Successful Business.