Yes, it's that day of the year again...a day upon which dads all over America get to kick back and feel appreciated. More often than not, that appreciation is expressed through household help, such as working on the car, or gifts like a new Weed-Whacker, or yet another goofy necktie.They may groan in dismay, but it's the thought that counts.
...Wait! Did I just say "neckties?" I did! And I have just the thing!
I bought these ties at Mike Bjorn's Tux-A-Rama in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In the lead-up to the Millennium, you would have found these for $15-20 apiece...I got all four of these for $0.95 each.
These two depict the
number “2000” repeated four times in a cascading “inverted cone” pattern. One
is multicolored, and the other is grayscale. I like both of them, but I find
the grayscale tie much classier and a lot easier on the eyes.
The
tie on the left is quite possibly the most baffling Millennium Item I’ve posted
to date. The navy blue tie depicts a large, old-fashioned computer whose
monitor reads “2000.” Meanwhile, a cartoon mouse looks at it with a “?”
thought-cloud sprouting from its head. Its tail appears to be plugged into the computer.
Frankly, I’m not sure what to make of
it…apparently it’s some kind of a
comment on the “Year 2000 bug” craze, but why would the Y2K bug mean confusing
a computer mouse for a real (i.e. rodent) mouse? Whatever statement it’s trying
to make is lost in the execution.
The
tie on the right is much more straightforward. It’s a black tie with a series
of dates moving up from the bottom: 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999, followed by a
huge “2000” at the top with a celebratory starburst.
THE
BOTTOM LINE:
These
ties fall squarely into the “generic” category of Millennium Items, but they
are worthy enough to warrant an entry. If I’m not sorely mistaken, I think
“computers” is a motif that I haven’t yet really given much thought to. Later
entries will have a greater focus on computers, Internet, and
technology, and I will look into obtaining at least one example of a Millennium
Bug by year’s end. Many different toy and novelty companies sold their own
variations of the ‘Bug at the height of the Y2K craze. Some were cute and
cartoony, whereas others were slightly meaner and more mischievous.
Nothing says Father's Day like catching the game on TV, or going TO the game if you're well-heeled enough. Who knows, you might even get to bring the game home with some lovely but overpriced souvenirs, like this Blackhawks Bear!
I found him at our annual Memories To Go Village Garage Sale in early May of this year.
I thought I was all done and ready to take my goodies home, but I spotted this little guy out of the corner of my eye. Or rather, I spotted the number "2000" on his back. My brain went, "What the heck!" and I got him...for 25 cents. (This will be important in a little bit.)
He was made by a company called "Salvino's Arena Bammers," which produced limited-edition collectible bears for football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and NASCAR events. "Why are they called 'Bammers'," you ask? Apparently, they were originally called "Salvino's Bamm-Beanos," but legal action (from TY, Inc., maybe) forced the name change.
Okay, little bear, turn around and show us why you're on this blog.
But that's not the most amazing thing about him. That honor goes to his ear-tag. Normally, when something like this belongs to a kid, the tag gets lost, but no, he's still got it.
As you can see, he came from the United Center game that was played on December 30th, 1999...just one day before New Year's Eve. Per Hockey-Reference.com, the 'Hawks won that night!
The funny thing is, the Arena Bammers are no longer in production, and the Salvino's website (formerly www.salvinos.com) can only be reached through the Internet Archive. An Ebay search for this little dude yielded only one result, which means I have something exceedingly rare on my hands...and it only cost me a quarter.
It's the small things in life you treasure...
June 16, 2013: Gore, Bush in Dead Heat Among California Voters
June 13, 2000: GTE, Bell Merger Go-Ahead
And, on that note, I think I'll take a break next week. The Fourth of July is coming up, and I have at least one or two really good Items for that.
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