Post #517764 by congawa on Tue, Mar 16, 2010 12:23 PM

I like the Goof, and to me offers one of the rare tiki/polynesian cross-overs into the world of Roadside Americana/"California Crazy" architecture--and though Shelter Island is not on the requisite major highway for such a status, it is on a major water highway (though the Goof doesn't face toward the water).

Before we single out the Goof as a racial caricature, however, consider that his close relative, the Roadside America masterpiece Mammy's Cupboard still exists and is operational in Natchez, Mississippi. And like the Goof, Mammy has had her pigmentation lightened over the years to downplay the racial profiling. In comparison to Mammy, at least, I don't think the Goof is going to offend as many people (other than those with bad dental work, or those with a missing glass eye).

Brent