At shows, many of the vendors go out of their way to give something extra to our customers – could be a great demo, or prizes, or sale items, or just a warm smile in the midst of a crowded booth.  And sometimes our customers go out of their way to give something extra to us . . .

These nice ladies made a pin/badge for Ted Cutts and presented it to him today.  I was across the aisle at the time and shot a quick pic with my cell phone.  From a distance, I knew it looked like an alarm clock (how fitting for someone who handles so many Tim Holtz products) with a caption that said “(something) for Ted” – but I couldn’t figure out what that first word was and assumed it was “Time”.  After blowing up a piece of the pic I shot, I’m still not sure.  Regardless, he got a big kick out of it and posed for lots of pictures.

Later, it was my turn.  Some of you may remember this shirt and the story behind it . . .

Melinda Doster is a huge North Carolina basketball fan (and I am not) – so she buys me a t-shirt whenever they win a national championship and I wear it during setup as often as I can in an effort to destroy it.  I got my revenge a couple of years ago when the University of Dayton beat North Carolina in the NIT finals and I sent her a Dayton shirt.  I wore that Carolina shirt during setup in Clearwater back in February (and probably as I walked through the Make & Take in the evening), and Judy Patrick saw it, gagged, and said something to the effect that when her team won the national championship she would bring me a real championship shirt.  Today, she delivered . . .

I have never seen the little “OK” sign, but she says one of Kentucky’s players would do that when he came back down the court after making a basket and it caught on with the fans.  I told her that I would never live this down at home – my house is surrounded on multiple sides by rabid Kentucky fans (so much so that when my neighbor died a year ago, he was buried in his Kentucky sweatshirt and their fight song was played at his funeral).  Of course, Judy wanted evidence that I actually wore it and I promised to provide it.

Later, Pat Johnson came in with a piece of custom headgear for me . . .

It seems that she and some friends were eating lunch at a place where a balloon artist was performing, and she commissioned this tiara just for me.  After that it seemed only fitting that I combine the two, fulfill my promise to Judy, and amuse the customers who gathered for our giveaway . . .

So this is what they saw when I climbed up on a chair to do “Happy Fun Giveaway Time” – are you satisfied, Judy?

Seriously, you pay us no higher compliment than when you think enough of us to share in the fun.  And as much as it will cause me pain in my own neighborhood, I will wear the shirt with pride (I suspect it will last longer than the tiara)!