MEET THE FLAMINGO LAWN ORNAMENT...

The Pink Flamingo is currently produced by Union Products. Available for purchase at many hardware stores for $17 a pair. Image source: Ace Hardware.

I know you’ve seen me around. Especially if you live in Florida.

After all I’m flamboyantly pink with a pose to remember.

My career as a lawn ornament began in 1957 when my designer father Don Featherstone decided to use a new method of plastic injection molding.

And did he find inspiration from live aviary? Of course not. A National Geographic photo spread was the perfect muse.

With two symmetrical, Day-Glo halves fused together, I became one quirky bird for a faux tropical world. At just $2.76 for a pair, my siblings and I were a big hit in the working-class suburbs.

But the sixties were a tough decade when lifestyle magazines rallied against my whimsical kind. Even gnomes and jockeys were judged as tacky outdoor accents that should be replaced with more “natural” features like water fountains.

Not to worry though since I came back stronger than ever during the rebellious 1970s. The movie Pink Flamingos was a big boost to my career even though I never made a cameo. One of my more memorable stunts in those groovy years involved some prankster students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Those rascals placed over a thousand of us in view of the dean’s office — my those were some good times.

Over the years, I have become quite proud of my status as an ironic tchotchke. Nowadays I cost around $17 and have moved from the garden section to a more prestigious placement in art museum gift shops. Yes, you can still find me at hardware stores too; after all, I am not ashamed of my humble beginnings.

Call me kitsch if you must, but just know that my plastic self is here to stay in the Americana landscape.

~Mr. Pink Flamingo

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