Most weekends when the weather was fine our very large, friendly balloon man would be seen walking up and down the street with a huge cluster of balloons saying "Make the ladies happy...make the children happy" in his booming baritone.
Posts
Smokers who get boob jobs have a high risk of their nipples falling off
-
Smoking just one month before or after a boob job can lead to your nipples
turning black and falling off, according to a top plastic surgeon.
Even if y...
7 years ago
They are big, they are beau-ti-ful, the beautiful balloons, with LOVE and DAISIES, to decorate! They make the ladies hap-py, make the children hap-py! When you make the lit-tle ones hap-py, then everyone's hap-py! PICK them up, GET them now. Don't forget to make the lit-tle ones hap-py! They are big, they are beau-ti-ful, the beautiful balloons...
ReplyDeleteYes, and thank you for the memories. I would always see this guy at what is now Verizon center, but in those days, 7th and F street NW. The start of Downtown back then, in 1963 right up to 1970's. Post riot I think he moved west to George Town? But yep, that was him and his chant. Robert M
DeleteMy wife and I were just talking about the Balloon Man of Georgetown in the car when my Blackberry rattled that someone had commented on my blog. Wouldn't you just know it? It was your post about the Balloon Man; thanks for the memory.
ReplyDeletePhil
"make the ladies happy, make the children happy"
ReplyDeleteMy God! I remember the Balloon Man well from Dupont Circle to P-street 'beach' to Wisconsin and M Street.
I've lived in Los Angeles most of my adult life and was telling my better half about my wild days in Georgetown. The Balloon Man was a fixture -
There was a story, perhaps and urban myth, that the balloon man (I remember him well, used to work at Prospect and Wisconsin, saw him every day at lunch) used the balloons as a front for selling drugs. Someone would come up, buy a balloon and hand him money. He got busted around 1976. Never saw him actually sell a balloon. Did anyone ever see him after the mid-70s?
ReplyDeleteMy family and I bought balloons from him almost every week, so yes indeed he did sell those Balloons.He was like family to us. Don't believe the "Myth" and nobody who sells drugs would make themselves so visible and vocal. Sadly, when we inquired we learned he had passed away. He was also blind. He was a D.C institution.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he was blind later in life, but he certainly wasn't for many years. I often saw him in the sixties inflating balloons from the trunk of his Cadillac in Georgetown. I also saw him at games at DC/RFK Stadium selling peanuts or drinks, singing with his distinctive voice. I would love to know more about him, but the link on this page seems to not work anymore.
ReplyDelete