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| Dateline: October 9th, 2005
Everyone is used to seeing yards full of clutter around election time. But do you ever wonder what would happen if those same types of signs began popping up throughout a city in a non election period? What would the people say? Especially if the signs had no known relevance to the reader. The Blackboard's own crack ninja-team set out to find the answers to these nagging questions in what we called: OPERATION PERSONAL PR.
To show appreciation for a friend, Sioux, Aaron and I implemented a personal Public Relations Program on Monday, September 12th, 2005. The PR program promoted our pal (and Blackboard Uber-fan) John Schaljo. The campaign began on our lunch hour Monday morning and consisted of signage that proclaimed that SCHALJO IS A-OK! Just a small reminder to the general public that they are in good hands with John in their corner.
Unbeknownst to Mr. Schaljo, the entire community of Effingham, IL. was soon to discover that he is A-OK. So with a signs, stakes, mallets, staple gun and a full tank of gas, we began the campaign.
The first destination was Evergreen park, a small park containing the city’s pool, tennis courts, and ball diamonds. Sioux, Aaron, Tmmaay and I (or some combination thereof) often eat lunch there in one of their fine, majestic gazebos. While dining, we witness the massive amount of people who traverse the grounds. So naturally, we want to inform all of these good, upstanding citizens that Schaljo is one heck of a man.
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| In the tradition of the Eurasian nomads, we began our all out assault on the public grounds of Effingham, embarking on the public relations campaign.
Aaron, dressed in his tactical white ninja shirt and blue combat pants was the first to act. He stealthilly worked his way up to the light pole and stapled the first sign into position.
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| Here is a shot of Aaron giving two "thumbs-up." Proud of his public service work, he beams with pride knowing that hundreds of people will soon know that Schaljo is A-OK! |
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| Aaron staples yet another poster on a telephone pole. This one was on Evergreen street, one of the busiest roads in the community. Way to go Aaron! |
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Once again Aaron is on the prowl. Using the speeding locomotive as cover, he hammers in one of the post-signs and runs back to the car doing his best Steve Austin (the Six Million Dollar Man) impression. Sioux remains seated in the car. While she chose not to place any of the signs herself, she played a big role in the operation by handing Aaron and I the materials as we needed them.
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Here I am at yet another location! These photos were taken at Community Park, perhaps the largest park in town. I am kneeling by the post-sign that was strategically placed near the horseshoe pits. It is rumored that John Schaljo himself often comes here to play a round during his lunch hour. Way to go! What better way is there to show our support of Schaljo.
The second photo is also at community park. Here I am stapling a support sign onto a pole as unwary citizens pass by. When this happened, I took no notice of the man passing by, but once I got home and analyzed the photo, I made an amazing discovery!!! It is my belief that the man in this photo is not a man at all, but one of the elusive Sasquatch!!!! Look carefully at the photo and draw your own conclusions, but I have little doubt that this figure may be a hairless version of the Sasquatch. Read the sidebar below to review the evidence!
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The Sasquatch Evidence, as recorded by Derek Greenwood!
Filed: October 8, 2005
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The first thing that alerted me to the fact that I had encountered a hairless Sasquatch was the incredible gait that this man-creature possessed. Compare the step of the human being shown (in photo A) with the expansive stride of the hairless Sasquatch (photo B.). Notice the incredible difference? Yet note the similarities between the hairless Sasquatch (photo B.) and the still frame from the famous Sasquatch 8mm film by Roger Patterson. Observe the nearly identical stride, the bend of the leading knee, and the unmistakable forward lean of their bodies. The mysterious figure that I had encountered was clearly not human.
Upon an even closer examination of the photos, I then noticed perhaps the most disturbing discovery of them all. The figure which I encountered, like that caught on the 1968 film, possessed a short tail protruding from the upper buttocks area. Look at the enlarged detailed shots sown on the upper right. A small, underdeveloped tail can clearly be seen on both specimen!! Astounding!!!!
There is the evidence. The facts have been laid out for all to see. It is now up to you to decide if there truly is a hairless Sasquatch living among the good people of Effingham, Illinois.
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Yet even more signs behind hammered in by Aaron and myself.
Let no man be unaware of the greatness that is John Schaljo!
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This one got a little scary! Notice the Effingham City vehicle traveling slowly past as the driver watched Aaron with suspicious eyes! We observed him driving, and slowing down at each sign that he encountered along the path. I'm not sure if there are any city ordinances against running a PR Campaign, but I didn't want to find out the hard way. Aaron got back in the car and we took off to go back to work. Thankfully the man didn't turn around to find us. I am assuming that either he did not care, or that he was on lunch too and didn't want to hassle us on his own time.
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| Back at work, Aaron places the final sign of the day under the windshield of john Schaljo himself. John would be heading to lunch soon, unaware of the notoriety that he was about to receive. |
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| The Results:
As of October 7th, there still remains a few sign proclaiming that Schaljo is A-OK. Most of the stapled ones have either been removed or worn from heavy rain, however the laminated pole signs still exist and are in good shape.
Some facts regarding the Campaign:
1. - John received numerous phone calls from people investigating what the purpose of the campaign was. Many were from people who he hadn't spoken to in years.
2. - The owner of the company where John and I are employed, stopped dead in the road, and backed up to see if he read one of the signs clearly. He was confused as to why the sign was there and astounded that anyone would enact a personal P.R. Campaign.
3. - The signs were so popular that some of them were stolen within 24 hours.
4. - Some of the signs were mysteriously located. Our assault on the city effected only the North East side of town. Weeks after the campaign was completed, reports came in that signage had mysteriously moved to the other side of town and were placed in the yards of restaurants.
5. - John was baffled and happy that we would take the initiative to promote his "A-OKness" to the community.
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Help bring A-OKness to the entire World!!!
Help me make this a world-wide phenomenon!
Download the two Schaljo is A-OK signs and put them up in your hometown! Lets help the whole world know that while John might not be the greatest person in the world, he sure is OK!
Take a photo of you with your posted sign, along with your name (first only is okay) and location and email them to me. I will post the photos here on my site and watch as the cultural development of Shaljoism unfolds! Click here to view the Submitted Gallery Page in a new window!
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Download Horizontal Sign With Picture: 24k pdf file (11" x 8.5")
Download Vertical Text-Only Sign: 20k pdf file (11" x 8.5")
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