I won! I WON!!!

Aloha.

So, on a recent and wonderful trip to Hawaii generously provided by my employer my wife and I stop by Hilo Hattie's.

Hilo Hattie's is a warehouse type facility that sells cheesy Hawaiianish trinkets, probably made in China. As you can imagine, this line item on our itinerary was not suggested by me. Sue actually bought a hula dancer doll to place on the dashboard of her Jeep. I am not making this up.

Anyway, as we are making our way through Hattie's throwing all kinds of crap in our cart we walk by a jewelry kiosk hosted by Maui Divers (Motto "We dive for credit cards"). A nice young man comes up with a bowl full of matching keys. "Pick a key" he says "and see if you have won!".

Sure, why not.

Sue picks her key and tries to unlock the padlock on the miniature treasure chest (probably made in China). No luck.

You would think that I'd be bright enough to walk away at this point, wouldn't you?

I try my key, and it unlocks the padlock! Hurray! I've won ..... something....

The nice young man, let's call him Pretty Tenacious Barnum, opens the miniature treasure chest and pulls out an attractive little jewelry pouch. In the pouch is a pearl! WOW!! I've won a pearl for my wife and, according to Barnum, it will only cost me seven bucks. Not bad!

And then I start to cry.

I didn't KNOW I was crying until my tears started splashing off of my credit card.

Credit card?!?! Where did THAT come from? I thought it was safely tucked away in my wallet. I guess I was struck by salesman's instinct and just (instinctively) pulled out my credit card.

Barnum drills a hole in the pearl and starts to show Sue some nice settings.

I turn to the guy behind me who was watching this whole story unfold and say "This seven dollar pearl is going to cost me an arm and a leg". He says "Yup", turns around and runs away. I tried to follow him but he kept pushing me away. I wandered back to the jewelry kiosk to review the damage, damp credit card in hand.

Sue has picked out a nice setting and Barnum has expertly glued the pearl in place. Looks nice.

THEN Barnum, sensing a professional sucker, hands me ANOTHER bowl with two oysters in it. He says "Tap one and see if you have won anything else!".

Bite me, Barnum.

However, having already reached the point of no return, I tap the one with the freshest looking rubber band holding it closed. Barnum "pries" opens the oyster and out pop TWO MORE PEARLS!!! Who could have imagined?

Barnum looks surprised and says "Two pearls! TWO PEARLS! That's amazing. Why, you could make ...." and as he pauses for dramatic affect I blurt out "... MATCHING EARRINGS!!!". Barnum looks a little disappointed that I've stolen his thunder, but quickly recovers. He fires up the drill. My guess is that once Barnum has actually drilled a pearl you are under some sort of legal obligation to buy it. He was pretty fast on that drill. Sue picks out the matching studs and glue is once again applied.

In the end my lovely wife brought home from Hawaii a nice pearl pendent with matching pearl ear rings. The whole thing only cost me seven dollars, plus $243 cover charge and floor show.

Good show, Barnum.

Mahalo.

The Daisy Boy passes on. Dang.

Article from the Washington Post:

FREDERIC J. GAYNOR, 73

'Daisy Boy' Was an American Ad Icon

By Joe Holley, Washington Post Staff Writer

As a youngster, Frederic J. Gaynor was the rosy-cheeked boy in rolled-up jeans cradling the popular Daisy air rifle. His all-American image in advertisements on the back covers of Boys' Life magazine, comic books and other publications helped make the rifle a staple on the Christmas lists of countless baby boomers in the 1950s.

Mr. Gaynor, who became a Foreign Service officer, died of cancer March 29, 2009, at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 73 and a former Arlington County resident.

Frederic John Gaynor was born in Chicago. When he was 3, a family friend who was a freelance photographer took a picture of him holding a football, titled it "Aspirations" and entered it in a 1938 contest sponsored by Kodak in Great Britain. The photo won the first prize of 1,000 pounds and launched the youngster's child-modeling career.

Mr. Gaynor's parents registered their son with the Chicago-based Models Bureau, and as he grew into a rosy-cheeked boy with a winning smile, he began to appear in ads for Coca-Cola, Borden's Milk (with Elsie the cow), 7UP and several hundred other clients.

"He was a cute little boy who did what he was told, so he got a lot of calls," his wife, Susan Brooks Gaynor, recalled.

The Daisy ad was created in 1947 for the cover of the company's annual report. Mr. Gaynor's all-American image was so well received that Daisy began using it to illustrate its "American Boys Bill of Rights" (including "the right to learn to shoot safely").

In a 2006 letter to Daisy Outdoor Products, the 127-year-old company now based in Rogers, Ark., Mr. Gaynor recalled taking time off from school to do the photo shoot.

"I remember doing three or four different poses," he wrote. "Incidentally, the wristwatch on my left hand was my father's watch. My wife wears that watch today. The shirt was a hand-me-down from my older brother. The short-sleeved sweater and jeans were mine. My hair was not really that curly."

At the end of the shoot, the producer offered young Mr. Gaynor a Daisy air rifle, which he desperately wanted, but his mother said no.

Mr. Gaynor's modeling career ended as he moved into adolescence. He went on to Beloit College in Wisconsin, where he received his undergraduate degree in theater and government in 1957.

After serving in the Army in France, he joined the Foreign Service. He served with the United States Information Agency in 10 African countries and then in Vietnam with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, an agency of the Commerce Department. He retired from federal service in 1999 and moved to Sarasota in 2007.

Mr. Gaynor's first marriage, to Annick Lansonneur Gaynor, ended in divorce.Survivors include his wife of 29 years, of Sarasota; a son from his first marriage, Christophe Gaynor of Petersburg, Va.; and a daughter from his second marriage, Antonia Gaynor of London.

"He loved being overseas, particularly in the Third World, because he felt like he could be useful," Mr. Gaynor's wife recalled. "He was very social, very debonair, spoke impeccable French. He was the essence of joie de vivre."

He was unaware until a few years ago that the "Daisy boy" had become an American icon as memorable as the rifle itself. Daisy Outdoor Products still uses the image of the young Mr. Gaynor in its logo.

..............................................................................................................................................................


And an entry on a Web site regarding his passing:

"I'm glad he's dead. He helped murder millions of innocent people in
advertising those disgusting weapons that inspired others to get real guns
later in the '60s and '70s."


And a reply:

"I knew him very well. He was a loving and caring man who would not
hurt anyone. He gave respect and understanding to his fellow man.
However, in your case -- that is impossible."



Why is it that people who seem to abhor hate ... promote it?