The Fezzes or No Fezzes poll - immediate results - General Tiki

O Okolehao Tiki Socialite Monterey, CA Joined: May 03, 2006 Posts: 248	O Okolehao Posted posted on Sat, Mar 26, 2011 4:54 PM I hope no one gets me wrong. I fell in love with fezzes loooong before anyone under 50 who wasn't a Shriner loved them. 30 years ago I was a Navy man stationed in Great Lakes Illinois and I would go into Chicago on the weekends for some R & R. In '84 a huge Shriner convention was in town and it was classic post war era mayhem. They had a parade that was like mardi gras crossed with a high school home coming. The go-carts, marching bands with snake charmer horns, silk harem outfits with curly toed shoes. Every hotel was booked and (it seemed) a fair amount of alcohol flowed. And tying it all together were the fezzes. Fezzes everywhere. You think Tiki folks can be nerd cool? These guy had it in spades! And I so wanted to be a part of it. I talked to some of the members and realized that this wasn't what they were like all the time. It just was an old style get away from the wives convention. And being young and in the service it wasn't a good match for me at the time. They do GREAT work with their children's hospital. Completely free, I believe. They sponsor speech therapists, like my wife,to help kids in rural areas who otherwise wouldn't get services. Fez-O-Rama is cool. All the fez clubs are cool. If there were one in my area I'd join them. But I don't get excited with it mixed with tiki. Same way with the hot rods, tattoos, burlesque, go-go, surf music, etc. that have crossed pollinated with tiki. But that's just me. I'm an old fart and have a hard enough time 'keeping up with these damn kids'(read that with an old mans voice as if I were your cranky next door neighbor). I love the pre-war hapa-haole ukulele stuff and a lot of people hate that stuff. If there were just people like me the B.O.T. would have been just another coffee table book and more tiki bars and restaurants would have closed by now, sadly. The poll is for fun and discussion. The fez seems to be the hardest thing to draw a line to in the tiki family tree. -I'M- surprised at the polling numbers. But lets be careful not to get steamed about it. Just asking the class to raise their hands. "Who's for Nixon?" "Who's for McGovern" etc. :wink:

I hope no one gets me wrong. I fell in love with fezzes loooong before anyone under 50 who wasn't a Shriner loved them. 30 years ago I was a Navy man stationed in Great Lakes Illinois and I would go into Chicago on the weekends for some R & R. In '84 a huge Shriner convention was in town and it was classic post war era mayhem. They had a parade that was like mardi gras crossed with a high school home coming. The go-carts, marching bands with snake charmer horns, silk harem outfits with curly toed shoes. Every hotel was booked and (it seemed) a fair amount of alcohol flowed. And tying it all together were the fezzes. Fezzes everywhere. You think Tiki folks can be nerd cool? These guy had it in spades! And I so wanted to be a part of it. I talked to some of the members and realized that this wasn't what they were like all the time. It just was an old style get away from the wives convention. And being young and in the service it wasn't a good match for me at the time. They do GREAT work with their children's hospital. Completely free, I believe. They sponsor speech therapists, like my wife,to help kids in rural areas who otherwise wouldn't get services.
Fez-O-Rama is cool. All the fez clubs are cool. If there were one in my area I'd join them. But I don't get excited with it mixed with tiki. Same way with the hot rods, tattoos, burlesque, go-go, surf music, etc. that have crossed pollinated with tiki. But that's just me. I'm an old fart and have a hard enough time 'keeping up with these damn kids'(read that with an old mans voice as if I were your cranky next door neighbor). I love the pre-war hapa-haole ukulele stuff and a lot of people hate that stuff. If there were just people like me the B.O.T. would have been just another coffee table book and more tiki bars and restaurants would have closed by now, sadly.
The poll is for fun and discussion. The fez seems to be the hardest thing to draw a line to in the tiki family tree. -I'M- surprised at the polling numbers. But lets be careful not to get steamed about it. Just asking the class to raise their hands. "Who's for Nixon?" "Who's for McGovern" etc. :wink:

Post #581937 by Okolehao on Sat, Mar 26, 2011 4:54 PM