handy

  Today we have infomercials that can last for a half hour or longer extolling the latest new thing. We've come a long way from the days of those ads from Ronco and K-Tel. You do have to be from a certain generation to remember them. I was reminded yesterday when I saw an advertisement on Facebook. It was showing the "fishing pole holster" and how it solved all your problems. It had people dropping their rods in the water, people trying to light their cigarettes, open a beer or use their cell phone. In every case they attempted to sit their pole down only to suffer some mishap. But the solution was at hand, the holster! People were putting their poles in those holsters and then withdrawing them faster than Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter. What a concept. Made we think of the "Pocket Fisherman." Lots of jokes about that one. 

  My wife didn't remember the pocket fisherman, so I went to the internet. Lots of them available as collectibles. I saw prices as high as 125 dollars being asked for examples still in the bubble pack. As far as I could tell no one is still manufacturing them today. They were distributed by Ronco! The owner of Ronco, Ron Popeil is credited with that invention. He invented a good number of gadgets. Who could forget the chop-o-matic or the dial-a-matic. The dial-a -matic was a device to slice tomatoes. According to Mr. Popiel it would slice tomatoes so thin they only had one side! I admit I did find those advertisements entertaining. I read were the chop-o-matic should get the credit for creating those commercials. The chop-o-matic was used to chop onions without shedding a tear and could also chop all sorts of vegetables. It became a problem for the salesmen demonstrating the product, they couldn't carry all those vegetables around. Ron Popiel solved the issue by filming the device in action, narrating the process and the infomercial was born. 

  Ronco and K-Tel sure had the devices we all needed every day. Then came Billy Mays, another terrific spokesman. Who could forget about Oxi-clean, Kaboom and orange glow. If it was a household product Billy was your man. We may not know the name of the man, but I think we all remember Sham-Wow the magic little towel that could hold ten times it's weight in water. Now that's entertainment. I'm thinking those advertisements may have been so successful because they did remind you of the advertisement on the back cover of comic books. C'mon live sea monkeys and x-ray glasses, who wouldn't want those? 

  Those companies like K-Tel and Ronco sold millions of dollars in merchandise. Some it worked fairly well and some of it gave questionable results. But the snake oil salesman have been around as long as money. I'm old enough to remember the door-to-door salespeople. An occupation today far too hazardous regardless of any profit, it's just not worth it! You would get arrested for trying that today. The only ones left at Jehovah's witnesses, and they go with the protection of God. But all those companies are gone now replaced by the Chinese outfits like Temu. They make fantastic claims about their products, offer amazing values, and in some cases free shipping when you buy two or more. They operate on the same principle as those ads on the comics, K-Tel and Ronco. The products sound just too good to be true. Generally, they keep that promise, they are too good to be true. Yet, we all keep buying that stuff, drawn in by the hype, the pitch. We just have to swing at it. You know that fishing pole holster might not be such a bad idea. Well, it is time to think about Christmas shopping. 

                                                                                

                                            I never did get one of these bad boys. Maybe it's time

                                             for a vintage Christmas. I'll put it on my list.