“I mean,” Vicki<\/a> said, “what’s the hook?”
\nNow, the Great Zucchini<\/a> was eating toilet paper<\/a>.
\n“I mean, are you that desperate?” she asked.
\nOn the floor in front of us, the kids — 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds — were convulsed in laughter. Literally. They were rolling on the carpeted floor, holding their tummies, mouths agape, little teeth<\/a> jubilantly bared, squealing with abandon. In the vernacular<\/a> of stand-up, the Great Zucchini was killing. Among his victims was Trey, who, as promised, had indeed been re-transitioned into his own party.
\nThe show lasted 35 minutes, and when it was over, an initially skeptical Don Cox forked over a check without complaint. The fee was $300. It was the first of four shows the Great Zucchini would do that Saturday, each at the same price. The following day, there were four more. This was a typical weekend.
\nDo the math, if you can handle the results. This unmarried, 35-year-old community college<\/a> dropout makes more than $100,000 a year, with a two-day workweek<\/a>. Not bad for a complete idiot.
\nIf you want to understand why the Great Zucchini has this kind of success, you need look no further than the stresses of suburban Washington parenting. The attendant brew of love, guilt and toddler-set social pressures puts an arguably unrealistic value on someone with the skills, and the willingness, to control and delight a roistering roomful of preschoolers for a blessed half-hour.
\nThat’s the easy part. Here’s the hard part: There are dozens of professional children’s entertainers in the Washington area, but only one is as successful and intriguing, and as completely over-the-top preposterous, as the Great Zucchini. And if you want to know why that is — the hook, Vicki, the hook — it’s going to take some time.
\nvia The Peekaboo Paradox – washingtonpost.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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