The above photo was taken in 1989 as I made my way to school for my senior year at college.
Mike, my housemate, made me pull over when we saw the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile. For him, it was a dream come true.
“How did you get this job?” he asked the driver, who was only a year out of college. “I majored in marketing,” he replied, a bit confused at the reverence we gave his gig. For him, driving around to different events, sleeping on the road, eating in 7-11s was just a step up from being the guy in a chicken suit holding a sign for the discount at a restaurant.
Mike asked him about gas mileage, other features of the vehicle, and generally imagined all the fun he could have, both ironically and in earnest, with the car.
The driver’s life stood out as interesting in that he traveled around the Western states, but not one of ease. I couldn’t see myself meeting any cool women in the thing, which at the time animated my thoughts. Perhaps my lack of vision has diminished my life. Even now, I’m hard-pressed to imagine a situation where the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile would be the essential ingredient to achieve that elusive goal.
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