Jonesy's funny moments from the GIS part 2

OK... the much anticipated part 2 of my funny moments from the GIS. Sorry for the delay on these -- I put off posting them because we kept having new material pop up on the blog! A good problem to have. I like having a post in my back pocket for a slow news day... like today.

Here we go.

BIGFOOT!   Every year there's some new way to catch your eye at the GIS. After all, creativity counts with so many different things competing for your attention. The highlight this year? Valent's Bigfoot. He was there promoting their Tourney fungicide (it's not a myth! their slogan). He was also their to take photos with anyone brave enough to stand next to him. As you'll see here, my daughter Evey isn't too thrilled to be hanging with the 'Foot -- wasn't that photo with Santa Claus enough torment already?

Anyway, it gets better. Visit their Web site www.tourneybelievers.com to see Bigfoot smoking a mean 9-iron, getting yelled at for his lack of appropriate golf attire, taking a (big)foot wedge from the rough and even some UFO footage.

Break the Big Mow   Back in August, I made mention of the Big Mow -- a robotic mower -- here on the GCM blog. We then followed up with more coverage in the October issue of GCM. So when I saw the Big Mow sign at the show, I had to stop in and introduce myself and see how they were doing at their first GIS. The good news? They were having a great show. The bad news? I'm prone to doing something stupid at least once during every GIS. So when Tom Moore, owner of the company, propped up the robo-mower for me on its hind wheels, I felt compelled to... try to pick it up. Apparently, that's one weakness of the Big Mow. "No, no! Don't pick it up like that!" Moore cried out. Whoops, sorry Tom. Thankfully, the Big Mow weighs a little over 100 pounds (that's what interested me -- to see how light this thing really is), so to say the least, I didn't have the thing spinning over my head by the time he stopped me. And no, I really didn't break it. At least, he didn't ask me to pay for it. Let's never speak of this again...

Just for Men... Except Pat   If you know Pat Jones (former Golfdom editor) -- and if you're in this industry, odds are you do -- you know that he uses, ahem, unusual greetings. For example, a normal greeting may be, "Hello, how are you?" A Pat Jones greeting is more like, "Nice shave." So. I'm standing in the GCM booth when Pat walks by. He waves, and shouts, "Hey Seth -- it's called 'Just for Men!'" Surprised that someone as follicularly challenged as Pat would make light of my premature gray, I replied, "Hey Pat -- it's called... hair." Pat stopped, looked at me and said, "OK. You got me." Pat Jones, ladies and gentlemen.

Keep the Change   The cab system in Orlando is... sketchy. One day a cab ride costs you $7, the next day it costs $21 to the exact same place. So... Shelly Howard, GCM's traffic specialist (oh, the irony!), takes one of these $7 cab rides. When the cabbie asks for $22, she's momentarily shocked, then, produces... maybe $24 (she doesn't remember the exact amount). As the cab driver takes off, it dawns on her that she may have not given a fair tip, so she hollers at the guy, "Hold on! I didn't give you enough of a tip!" The cab driver then leans out his window and calls out, "It's OK -- I overcharged you!"