"Time to Make the Donuts"

Just read that Michael Vale, a commercial actor best known as an early a.m. baker in the Dunkin' Donuts ads, passed on recently due to complications from diabetes. I spent part of my college career doing the overnight counter work at a privately owned donut shop, so I've gotta admit that this commercial had a particular resonance for me. The place I worked didn't bother with making 'em fresh each morning, however – each day's new donuts were made the day before, kept on trays in the back 'til it was time for yours truly to place 'em in the display case. (That they weren't morning fresh didn't stop me from eating a donut or two, of course.) As the lonely counter guy, I rather wished that a "time to make the donuts" guy would've showed up at the place around about 4:00 a.m., since that was an especially draggy time, but that's not the way we did things in that little midwestern college town donut shop. Still, for years whenever I saw that commercial on the air, I couldn't help flashing back to my nights arranging donuts and crullers under a glass display. Sleep well, Michael Vale . . .