It could be slow answering phones in the office of retiring Republican Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist, so two young staffers invented a game.
They would try to drop silly phrases like “purple spatula” and “peanut butter and jelly” into the conversation when out-of-state residents kept calling back. They scored points, and the loser bought lunch.
“I still remember [making chewing noises] and saying, ‘Oh, I just had a bite of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich,’” says William R. Timmons IV, now a lawmaker himself.
