I spent a couple of days in Dothan, Alabama. I didn’t have a chance to explore much. It just so happened that a slew of personal errands had to take precedence. Even though I travel full-time, it can’t be all fun and games. There are times when being a grown-up intrudes into the fun. This was one of those times.
However, while I drove around checking errands off my list, I saw street art. (I use the term loosely). I didn’t understand the street art in Dothan at first. But, then a mural in the local Walmart cleared things up for me. Dothan is, apparently, the peanut capital of the world. Who knew? I just assumed it would be someplace in Georgia. It is not.
I have lived in North Florida for 30 years or so. Both my town and another nearby community have had sculpture auctions. You’ve probably heard of these programs. They are pretty common across the country. Artists are given a statue to paint any way they wish. The collection is then auctioned off for some worthy cause and the statues find new homes in front of businesses throughout the community.
The town near where I live is known for horse breeding. Each statue there is of an elegant thoroughbred grazing. No matter how crazy the paint job, it is hard to make these art pieces look anything other than elegant.
Unfortunately, my town went in the opposite direction. Many years ago, a statue was designed to look like an alligator standing upright on two legs like a human. Alligators are common in my community and they are a common mascot for sports teams and the like. The design was probably supposed to be humorous but, somehow, it just looked tacky. Artists painted the alligators wearing a top hat and tails, sports gear, or any number of other outfits. It didn’t matter, they just looked awkward.
Dothan, Alabama has managed to pull off humor with their statues. The first one I saw was a cowboy in front of a car wash.
I certainly did a double-take in traffic. What the heck? I assumed the owner of the car wash was an odd person. When I saw the UPS sorting facility had a peanut outside dressed as a UPS man, I knew this was an organized movement and not just one business owner with a strange sense of humor.
UPS peanut even has a package and a scanner for the customer to sign. Let’s face it, it’s pretty hard not to laugh.
One of the local restaurants has a chef peanut in the lobby. Although, he does look a little like an evil villain planning to fight the forces of good with a spatula. Hmmm…
One of the local banks even named their peanut. Meet Captain Cash! We watch a lot of superhero movies in my house, so he was a big hit. Even though he’s a celebrity, he let me pose for a photo with him.
For the record, my favorites are Captain Cash and the UPS peanut. I’m not saying that peanut statues are a reason to visit Dothan, but I certainly got the idea that the people of Dothan have a good sense of humor.
Have you seen funny street art on your travels? Do you have a favorite peanut statue? Tell us in the comments.
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