Thursday, April 24, 2008

Odd Souvenirs

I’m a big fan of souvenirs. I try to only buy things I really feel I will use (like jewelry! Yeah!), so I don’t mind spending a bit. As a result I have a beautiful leather wallet from Spain, I’m wearing a gorgeous fire opal my brother brought from Australia, etc. I end up with a lot of beautiful things that remind me of adventures I’ve had.

However, some things are too good to pass up.

Behold two of my more unusual souvenirs!

The first is a postcard from Daytona Beach, Florida.

I’ll admit I get a creepy vibe from Daytona. People seemed genuinely surprised to see girls walking around who weren’t wearing thongs. Although in my case, it may have been my glow-in-the-dark complexion. I also don’t really get the point of being able to drive on the beach. Doesn’t that mostly mean you end up with a lot of polluted sand? Is the parking lot really so far away?

I found this beauty on the main drag in a stand outside a drugstore. I bought this in 2001. Keep in mind a few things here:

1. This guy’s awesome 1970s hair, mustache, tan, and teeth. He looks like a Charlie’s Angels guest star. One that could have kissed Farrah and had their hairprayed dos stick together. Mind you, it is Florida, so it’s possible this guy still has that look.

2. The crumbled yellowed look of the card. Look a bit as though it was on someone’s fridge for a few decades.

3. The Daytona pier in the background was apparently demolished quite a while ago.

4. On the back it bears the legend “Printed in West Germany.” Okay, we know this was printed before 1990 at the very least.

I’m kind of impressed at the gall of a shop to sell a postcard so many years out of date. Then again, I bought it so maybe they were on to something. And what does "Relax, it's Florida" mean? Is his making some sort of seductive comment to us? From that expression, I think the answer is "yes." I did make a t-shirt out of this for Knut with the inscription "Greetings from Daytona Beach" on it, but Knut never quite had the nerve to wear it. Not that I blame him :)

This one is a polaroid of me and Knut sitting on an elephant.

Circuses in Norway are different than in the US. When I went to a circus as a kid, it was a high affar in a stadium with professional concessions and everything else. In Norway, they’re tiny. The circus really is held in a circular tent lined with splintery wooden bleachers. You didn’t realize when you bought your ticket or a wad of cotton candy from a young woman in sparkly eye makeup that she was also the trapeze artist. Most of the performers were Eastern European, with only the announcer speaking Norwegian. Everyone else communicates in English. There are a lot of animal acts. The best one involved a teacup poodle on the back of a terrier on the back of a German shepard on the back of a little donkey as it ran around the ring.

The best part was at intermission you could walk around the outside of tent and see the camels, horses, and dogs in their own little areas. We were strolling along when a trainer told us we could have a photo with the elephant for $4. Absolutely!

This particular elephant was the star of the show. It was a sweet elderly animal who was placidly eating hay in its enormous semi sized trailer. Knut got to sit around its neck and I am sitting on its knee. An elephant feels like an old foam rubber sofa upholstering in wrinkly leather. It was clearly adored by all of its handlers.

A few weeks after the show we read a notice in the paper that a handler was seriously injured in this circus by the elephants. He was a Ukranian man who had been crushed when he was caught between the two elephants as they tried to pass eachother in the trailer. Fortunately, it was judged to be a simple accident and no onus was directed towards the animals. Still, it is peculiar to think you’ve sat on an animal that crushed someone.

1 comment:

Emily said...

that postcard is just too cult! haha... Hasselhof eat your heart out!