=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2008/08/10/TRP11224KM= .DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, August 10, 2008 (SF Chronicle) Sioux City knows it's 'S-U-X,' so it's decided to enjoy it Jay Jones "It's 'S-U-X,' not 'sucks,' " cautions Dave Bernstein, a local business mogul, as he slowly speaks - one-by-one - the three letters with which the Federal Aviation Administration has identified Sioux City's airport for decades. For almost as long, city fathers have moaned about how much that code, well, sucks. Six years ago, the mayor labeled it an embarrassment. Situated on the banks of the Missouri River at the point where Iowa, Sou= th Dakota and Nebraska converge, Sioux City is no stranger to public humiliation. When I told a colleague who used to live there that I was traveling to Sioux City, his reply was, simply, "Well, at least it doesn't smell as bad as it used to," a reference to the malodorous stockyards that drove the local economy for more than a century. Sioux City's reputation suffered further at the hands of David Letterman. During the early 1990s, he would begin his 'Top Ten List' with the forward that it had just arrived "from the home office in Sioux City, Iowa," a joke based on the fact that the local CBS station was the only affiliate in the country that refused to carry "The Late Show." (The station instead carried reruns of "MASH.") Just like Rodney Dangerfield, the good people of Sioux City didn't get no respect. Now, though, Sioux City is trying to get in on the joke. Bernstein is making T-shirts - and a lot of other stuff - emblazoned with "Fly SUX." (Remember, that's pronounced "S-U-X," not "sucks.") It all begin as a lark last fall, when Bernstein, who sits on the airport's Board of Trustees, had about a dozen of the T-shirts printed for some local travel agents at an appreciation dinner. Soon he was deluged with requests for them, including one from the president and CEO of Northwest Airlines, Douglas Steenland. Since then, the line of Fly SUX merchandise has grown to include caps, coffee mugs, luggage tags, and bumper stickers. "Let's exploit it rather than let it bother us," said Luanne Lindblade, the owner of Sioux City Gifts, the company marketing the Fly SUX merchandise. "We have always believed, 'Why fight it? Why not have fun with it?' " Sioux City isn't the only destination with a giggle-prompting airport code. Are the folks in Fresno (FAT) all obese? On arrival in Perm, Russia (PEE), do passengers rush to the toilets? And then there's Japan's third-busiest airport, in the city of Fukuoka. We're just going to leave that airport code to your imagination. Other codes are just obscure. Chicago's O'Hare Airport got ORD because it sits on the site of a former farming community known as Orchard Place. New Orleans' airport - officially, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport - is located, ironically, on the land on which pioneer aviator John Moisant died in a plane crash in 1910. When the property - then a plantation - was sold to a livestock dealer, it was renamed in honor of the pilot: Moisant Stock Yards; hence the code MSY. And St. Petersburg-Clearwater (Fla.) International Airport isn't famous for its lemon meringue pies, even though its code is PIE. It's located on the site of the former Pinellas Army Airfield. In Sioux City, they're hoping their rude-sounding airport code will ultimately prove to be catnip to visitors. "I think it's a great thing for tourism, both short and long term," says Erika Newton of the Sioux City Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It's just one more interesting way to draw attention to our community." While it's not listed in any of the major guidebooks, Sioux City does offer some interesting attractions. The splendidly restored Orpheum Theater anchors the well-preserved downtown and is worth a visit. The sprawling, ornate theater hosts the local symphony along with many other cultural events, including a short-film festival each spring. The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center shares the expeditionary team's story - with a unique twist. The interactive exhibits focus on the life - and death, in August of 1804 - of Sgt. Charles Floyd, the only soldier to die during the trek west. A 100-foot-tall obelisk, on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, marks his final resting spot. Just east of downtown, at the Palmer Candy Co. store and museum, visitors can learn of Sioux City's long history making a wide variety of sweets. Most famous is their Twin Bing bar, a curious concoction of cherry nougat covered with crushed peanuts and milk chocolate, which the company has been making since 1923. "It's an acquired taste," explained the store manager, Jon Sadler, as I hand back to him my bar after just one bite. While the Twin Bing is too sweet for my tastes, I find that the store has other treats to offer - just like the city that surrounds it, which does not suck. Online resources Fly SUX merchandise is available through a link on the Sioux Gateway Airport's Web site, www.flysux.com. For more information: Sioux City Tourism, visit www.siouxcitytourism.com. Jay Jones last wrote for Travel about stargazing at Squaw Valley. To comment, visit sfgate.com/travel. -----------------------------------------= ----------------------------- Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".