They come in all sizes and shapes, but they are usually furry, large and easily recognized. For reasons unknown, children love them and are attracted to them like sharks to a drop of blood. Children and people practically tackle them on sight as if they were defensive linebackers rushing to sack the quarterback. People usually hug, touch or even throw up them, but they always seem happy. Who are they? Well they are many things -- they are college mascots, cartoon characters at major amusement parks and whoever dons hefty costumes in the name of entertaining people.
Almost all people have taken pictures with Mickey Mouse, Snoopy or even our very own Dartmoose once in their lives. They look rather silly, usually waddling around like penguins or unusually large people, waving stupidly at people. Giving hugs more easily than people at AA groups, they seem to be on a drug-induced high. Seldom do they realize what really goes on under those costumes.
Like people who look different (I guess in this case, inhuman) and are not allowed to speak (think mimes), they often find themselves as the victims of harassment and abuse by teenagers and mean children. They might find themselves being pushed around and constantly slapped in the head.
If these brave costumed men and women are knocked down, they can rarely get up without assistance. Since the costumes hinder visibility, an unfortunate costumed mascot may wander into a busy intersection or bump into various stationary objects.
I confess that I was one of many who tortured mascots and various Disneyland characters. One of the favorite pranks my friend and I liked to pull on them went like this: One of us would distract the mascot or Mickey Mouse (for some reason, he was the most annoying character at Disneyland) while the other would get behind the person and lift the head piece right off. Then we would laugh at the person and run off before we got in any trouble. Yes, it was a very mean thing to do, but hey, it was adolescence.
One incident changed my attitude, and I stopped taking part in these activities. A few of my friends and I were picking on a person dressed up like Barney at some festival, and we did the usual routine. Well, the other guy ran off with the head piece, and I saw the girl in the costume, about 14 years old, start crying. Then the children who were around the "supposed" Barney started crying and began to scream that Barney died. It was a pitiful scene, and I felt absolutely miserable. Then I started to look for ways to atone for my past sins.
God must have a weird sense of humor, because I ended up donning a Pink Panther costume at a city fair. It was a thankless job, hugging children who drooled liters and passing out lollipops to little kids. I think mascots in New England have it easy compared to those in southern California. Besides not being able to see and needing somebody to guide me through the booths, it was absolutely sweltering inside the costume.
Most people don't last more than 20 minutes, so they would take us into huge refrigerators where slabs of meat are hung to cool down. They would close the refrigerator door, and I would enjoy some moments of silence with 600 pounds of beef. A few months later I found myself dressed like a huge drop of blood (for the blood drive) and wearing red stockings in front of 900 high school students, but that's another story ...
I've met a lot of college mascots and costumed folks at most big amusement parks. Most people like the job, because they can act as silly as they want to without people ever finding out their name. Those who sign up to take on this colossal task love people and like to entertain them, so they have few complaints.
A guy who dressed up like Mickey Mouse said the biggest thing that bothered him are "the damn foreigners who sticks cameras into the eye slits" and blind him. The strangest thing I ever saw was somebody dressed like Bugs Bunny (without the head piece), smoking behind some trees and sighing. Although they may look ridiculously happy on the outside, let's try to remember the people under those costumes.
