Agnes by Tony Cochran for October 21, 2022

but you know, if someone buys this, he or she needs a beating

Isn’t this how Andy Warhol got started?

Agnes’ reality is so painful that she has to work extra hard to overcome it, despite the comments of her “best” friend.

The late artist Claes Oldenburg was noted for his giant sculptures of safety pins, garden spades, and other everyday items.

Wonder what he’d think of Agnes’ “art”.

I imagine “Jiggly Jim” is a parody of “Bob’s Big Boy.”

I hate to say it, but IF this an original statuette from one of the restaurants, Agnes is more right than wrong.

Bob, with his happy smile and upraised hamburger, has become iconically kitsch.

In good shape, the 4 or 5 foot tall fiberglass ones that stood inside the restaurants are selling for several thousand dollars each on eBay or Etsy…. and even replicas go for hundreds.

….

You have to pay $30 or $40 for one of the rubber dolls of Bob that used to be a cheap premium.

The giant Bobs, that stood outside, are worth a small fortune, but there aren’t many left.

Unfortunately, Agnes’ statuette is broken, so probably not worth a lot … but there are collectors who would pay more than you’d think, and try to restore him.

…

Then again… what do I know.

I didn’t get a chance to post it the other day….

but I had a 1976 Volare station wagon. Honestly!

I drove it for fifteen years… and it was 10 years old when I got it.

I LOVED that car!

It had a slant 6 engine that loved to go 75 on the freeway if I wasn’t careful not to let it.

But it needed some repairs that weren’t worth it when it was 27 years old with 243,000 miles on it and worth $1000 in good condition, according to the Blue Book, so I let it go.

Poor Volares,… always maligned… never called a classic, like Bob’s Big Boy statues.

Maybe people will pay money not to see it.

there is one in Michigan—in Marquette, my home town. the place that always makes the news because their winter weather is so nasty there. 18.1 inches fell Monday/Tuesday, knocked out power, and set a record for October snow.

A decapitated head of Mayor McCheese has been the unofficial mascot of the band Leftover Salmon since the 1990’s.https://leslieloudspeaker.com/tag/mayor-mccheese/

She is developing the vocabulary of an art critic and some day she may be one.

Americana.

A slant 6 would run 75 on the highway even if you drained the oil out of it. They were indestructable. A friend drove one for 5 years with less than 5 PSI oil pressure at idle. TRIVIA: Chrysler made some Slant Six engines out of aluminum.

speaking of angst, the local big boy employees would spontaneously burst into tears when they saw my family approaching the restaurant…