Neanderpundit

Arkansas was pretty and the weather was awesome, but the coolest thing was visiting Smitty’s Trading Post, the Ancestral home of the tschotschke.

There’s concrete deer, handpainted lifesize fiberglass bison, and cast iron cowboy boot umbrella stands. There are gen-yoo-wyne (made in India) bowie knives, and authentic (chinese) japanese swords.

They have what looks like a doberman, but it’s about four inches tall. No, it’s not a tschotschke, it’s a real dog, and it’s frightened of most things my size, understandably, but I was amazed at the ability to put a dog into a package that wouldn’t make a good meal for an average housecat. I wanted to pick it up and have my picture taken with it, but that cost $5. It also cost $5 to have your picture taken with the wax Elvis in the backroom, and an additional $5 if you wanted to be sitting on the motorcycle instead of standing next to it.

More pics next week, as week two of the project progresses.