Rusty's Recent Ramblings

Rusty the scribe was born (figuratively) in the late summer of 1999 after a mishap with a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It seems that KFC chicken buckets weren't quite holding up to the expectations of the average consumer. So Rusty wrote a letter to KFC under the pseudonym 'Tom Lucas.' After this foray into the consumer affairs arena, Rusty became more aware of the products and companies around him and he found many other consumer products which could be improved. At that point, Rusty went on a letter writing campaign. He decided to sign these letters with his true given name 'Rusty Lucas' and vowed to never again deny his true identity to himself or anyone else.

Nobody knows for sure what happened to Rusty in December of 1999 or why he so abruptly stopped writing letters. Some say that he ran out of stamps, others suggest that he was on a secret mission for the CIA and had to go underground, still others believe that Rusty was abducted by aliens and taken far away in a space craft. While we cannot be sure what exactly happened, Rusty made a triumphant return to society in late 2003 and his letters to Corporate America on behalf of the average everyday consumer are once again circulating through the proverbial veins upon which you will find the pulse of America. Rusty has even expanded his horizons to include inquisitive letters to other organizations and societies.

In early 2004, Rusty went on a writing spree and actually posted 5 letters in just one week in January. Soon thereafter, Rusty altered his plan so that he now only mails out one letter each week on Friday, unless some emergency strikes. So, except in rare circumstances, you can log onto this web site at the beginning of each week and expect to see at least one new outgoing letter posted from the prior weekend. Rusty posts any replies on an 'as received' basis.

In January of 2005, Rusty received a visit from the authorities. Apparently the personnel at BASF do not share Rusty's inquisitive nature and sense of humor. Unfortunately, BASF did not and will not send any replies to Rusty. Instead, they sent a police detective. Although Rusty offered to write BASF another letter to explain that it was all in harmless good humor, it was decided that writing another letter to BASF was not advisable. So instead, Rusty pledged to include a reference to BASF in his weekly letter for an undetermined period of time.

In April of 2006, Rusty's Recent Ramblings was featured in one of Rusty's favorite newsletters: Cool Tips and Trinkets. This page was included in the Subscribers' Sites section of issue #399.

In October of 2006, Rusty went away on an indefinite sabbatical and retreat. He will return some day soon (so check back for that triumphant return), but for now, he is looking to cleanse his mind and spirit. Rusty’s trusty staff will continue to post all responses that he receives to past letters. While you will not see any new letters from Rusty in the near future, there are plenty of old favorites here for you to enjoy all over again.

Feel free to look around and read Rusty's Recent Ramblings. If you haven't been here for a while, you may notice that Rusty did some house cleaning (but don't tell the folks at Good Housekeeping) so if you are looking for an old favorite, letters originating prior to 2006 and any responses are now located in the archive pages, linked below.

Not only are all visitors welcome, but Rusty also welcomes any and all feedback. Unfortunately, Rusty must decline any ideas for future letters from outside sources. As for his reasons, he simply refers you to the views expressed in the archived replies from Good Year (#2), Snickers, Campbell Soup, and 7-Up, among others... If you have a letter idea that you think is worthy enough, why not write a letter yourself?

Below are links to the recent letters written by Rusty and the responses (where applicable) that Rusty received. Previous Rusty letters are also posted in the archives. All letters and responses are saved in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. If you encounter an error trying to download or view these files, please send an e-mail note to Rusty. You can download the Adobe Reader program here for free.

(Please note that all of Rusty's letters are the sole property of Rusty and/or his web master and CANNOT be reproduced, redistributed, or used in any way without Rusty's express written permission. The same applies to all responses to Rusty exclusive of any corporate letterhead and/or logos, insignias, or other material which is currently copyrighted by the respective sources).

© The rusty letters that appear at the top of this page are copyrighted images by rustfetish "a photo gallery dedicated to the love of rust and all that rusts".
MAXIMIZE this page in your browser window to view the true intendedA layout.

For all newcomers to Rusty's Recent Ramblings: Although Rusty hasn't written any letters in 2008,
there are over 100 other letters in the Rusty Archives above. If you dig deep enough in those archives you will find:

- Rusty's effort to obtain sponsorship to swim the Ohio River.
- Rusty's proposal of a Supermarket Bingo promotion.
- Rusty's request for snowman insurance.
- Rusty's proposal for a new face on Mount Rushmore.
- Rusty's quest to become a major game show contestant.
- Rusty's effort to cover a small South American island with a rain awning.
- Rusty's idea for a new Christian hand soap.

Take a few minutes in the archives and try to find each of these letters.
It's Rusty's own variation on "Where's Waldo" in a rusty sea of scenarios!

Rusty's page was last modified on: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
These modifications included: minor editing.

I am looking for a publisher to turn these Rusty Letters into a book. If you are an independent publisher or are affiliated with a publisher and find these letters worthy of publishing in a collection (or series), please e-mail me with your company name/address and a contact person.