Nolan,
As you know I just spent a few days vacation down south with friends in a condo in Pompano Beach. I finally did some of the tourist things down there and hit a couple of the Everglades spots and saw the Coral Castle from the outside (it's amazing that the place just dits on US-1 in between a bunch of strip malls!). One place I finally got to visit that has always been on my list is Monkey Jungle. It's a really cool place if you like monkeys and let's face it, who doesn't? As I was nearing the end of my stay there, I walked by some restrooms and what did I find? Something probably even rarer than the species of monkeys they have there, TWO working Mold-O-Rama machines! I stopped dead in tracks and annoyed my partner Philip with a mini dissertation on the history of the machines. I took these pictures and even shot a MPG of the machine creating the gorilla figure that is now proudly displayed in my collection.
The machines are not as dynamic as I remembered them (no flashing lights) and the figures they make are smaller than the old ones by about 25% (I guess you can't get that much plastic for a buck!). It was a thrill to hold one of these hot little custom made souvenirs again and I remembered there had been some interest in these in the PCR letter column a while back.
I also ran across (and dine at twice) a restaurant called Flanigan's that is the last of the Big Daddy's Liquor Stores! While the name has changed a very good Bennigans style restaurant has been added, there is still a bar and a liquor store that calls itself Big Daddy's. My friend Richard told me there is another of these restaurants closer to Miami and apparently that's it.
Hope you enjoy the photos and video.
- ED -
ED, that's terrific, thanks! I remember the Mold-A-Rama machines from ages ago, haven't seen one in decades, I don't think. I remember some time ago, letter-writer Backbiter69 inquired as to the existence of the Mold-A-Ramas. Now we know where to find some! Thanks for the video as well. It's a little heavy for the Lettercol, but to the readers, I'll say it shows the gadget in action! ---Nolan
Hi Nolan,
I'm an old friend of Zigs [that is, Ziggy Lewis from the Tampa-based band Four-in-Legion]...
You were trying to remember their previous name. The Four-in-Legion
name change was from "The Vandals".
(Unsigned)
Ah yes, of course! Thanks for the memory jog! ---Nolan
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