As a proud member of the fraternity of mascots, I have much respect for everyone who dons the giant costume in support of their team/business/cause, and maybe not as much respect for those who just put on the costume to be freaky, but I do understand the physical challenges of trying to accomplish normal tasks with a giant, costumed head on. I bring this up because although tax season has been over for a few weeks, driving past the Liberty Tax shop the other day I thought about how they hire the people to stand on the side of the road in the Statue of Liberty outfit. Granted the outfit is fairly simple, basically just a robe and a cheesy crown, but they get the kids out there, on the side of the road, trying to lure people in to get their taxes done their and not at the H&R Block down the street.
Having worn a mascot costume before, I have also become a person of mascot envy at times. This stemmed from a stint at a trade show where I found myself in this weird world of the mascot “holding” area, a back suite of offices where all of the various people donning the mascot suits could get set up so as not to freak out any kids that might be around, thus perpetrating that the mascots are actually real characters. The envy stemmed from when, as my costume was made of a giant, plaster head and a body suit that is more like the material from a quilt, thus creating a sauna effect which although good for a Bikram yoga workout, turned me into a sweaty mess, I came across other mascot outfits made of lightweight plastic for the head, complete with a fan, and a body suit made of lightweight fabric that could actually breath. I quickly had dreams of modifying my costume trying to figure out how to put a fan in the head and come up with a cooling suit for underneath the body of the costume. In the end, though, the costume remains the same, and is a good way to drop some water weight when need be.
Back to the Statue of Liberty people.
Driving past, not that tax season is over, I did feel a little bummed because the kids aren’t on the side of the road, because I’m one of those people who always wave at the mascot on the side of the road. I don’t go crazy and honk my horn, well, not always anyway, but driving by I’ll give a quick wave, and feel their pain. I also wondered how many other people wave at the mascots, and so I plight: Do you wave at mascots on the side of the road?
That’s it for this plight! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!