| Frequently Asked Questions: |
| Q. How did the traveling Pee Wee thing start? A: It started in 1993 when I was moving from New York to San Francisco, and my friend M. (full name hidden to protect the innocent) gave me her Pee Wee Herman doll to take with me. When she came to visit me the following year, we thought it would be funny to take him around town and take his photo in front of famous sites, just to prove he was there. Q. Why did she think you wanted to take a Pee Wee Herman doll to California? A. The doll had been sort of standing joke between us for a few years, because once when I worked in a museum I borrowed him to take him to work where we were setting up a little exhibition of funny things in the curatorial offices. I took him home once we got tired of having toys in the office, and it stayed in my apartment for a while. Then, one day, the man I was dating said (in his French accent): "I do not like zees leetle man - he ees always smiling at me!" and put him in the microwave. I had to rescue him and give him back to M. before his life was endangered further. I guess I got kind of fond of the doll then. Q. Are you obsessed with Pee Wee Herman? A. No, not at all. I did see Pee Wee's Big Adventure (as a rental) and once in a while watched Pee Wee's Playhouse, but I wouldn't say I ever was obsessed with the character. Perhaps M. was, since she was the person who actually purchased the doll. It could have been any other kind of doll that started this, really. Q. Why does this website look so - well - amateurish? A. Because it is! First, some of the photos were scanned years ago on equipment that is nothing like what we have today, so some of the images are not very good. I like to think it adds to the charm of the site, but probably it just looks bad. If I can find all the old photos, someday I might try to scan them again. Second, I really have no skills in web design - everything you see here is done through geocities web design for dummies. Third, I don't really have much time to devote to this. Some of the photos have taken about two years to get posted onto the site. Q. Did you take all these photos? A. No, not all of them. I have a nice cadre of friends and friends-of-friends who have taken him on trips. I just wish I had been to all those places. Q. How can I sign on to take Pee Wee on a trip? A. Send me some dark chocolate and two letters of reference and I'll consider it. Q. What do you like most about posing Pee Wee? A. The great thing about doing this is that it really makes people smile. Perhaps it's Pee Wee's own smiling face that does it. In other cases it's recognition - "Hey, check out Pee Wee Herman in front of that statue!". Finally - and this could be the case with children, who seem to universally love watching Pee Wee have his photo taken even if they don't know who he is - it could just be the idea of an adult taking a photograph of a doll. One of my favorite moments with Pee Wee was riding in a bus in Istanbul and waving his little arm at people on the streets - you wouldn't believe the smiles and laughter he got any time he caught someone's eye. Q. In some of the photos, Pee Wee looks a little bedraggled. Does he need to be repaired? A. Pee Wee is a little tired these days. His voicebox hasn't worked for years, and now several of his limbs are broken. His suit is also quite dirty. I am thinking about taking him to a doll hospital. Please feel free to make a contribution towards his care! |