The Incredible Kulk: Vignettes from Vermont: Fishy But True

BENNINGTON -- On December 9, 1993, from a pay phone inside the Denver bus station, he made a collect call to his attorney, Irving Bobo.

The automated voice asked who the call was coming from. He was doing something he said he'd never ever do -- break free from California -- on the back of a Greyhound bus, escaping to a safety net in Iowa City Iowa, where Irving Bobo had been chasing down some broad by the name of Lina Dart. The guy on the back of the Greyhound was flux in the wind, almost broke, tired, hungry, smelling like someone who rides the back of a Greyhound might smell after a day and a half -- crotches and butt cracks become wastelands after a day and a half on the back of a Greyound. And so he was in no mood to deal with automated phone voices. He pulled a name out of his ass and blurted "Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo."

Irving Bobo accepted the call.

That night, the 90th episode of The Simpsons -- "The Last Temptation of Homer" -- aired for the first time and featured a character by the name of Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo. No shit.

Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo

Almost 20 years later -- April 12, 2013 -- these arrived at Fiddlehead at Four Corners art gallery from Jersey City, New Jersey. Pottery fish head salt and pepper shakers ...

... one of them looked like Emmett Kelly doing "Weary Willie" the hobo clown.

Beth DiCara's handmade pottery fish heads reminded Art Gallery Dude of the fish that caught his eye one day in the supermarket in the awful part of Chambersburg, Trenton, New Jersey. It was August 11, 2010, and AGD was still Newspaper Editor Dude. This was a day off and like so many other days off he went to the supermarket to eat hot buffet. To get to the hot buffet in back of the supermarket you walk past the stinky fish section, a rather impressive stinky fish section with fishes galore on ice and buckets of live crabs and aquariums of lobster and an array of other picks from the sea. Impressive fish section.

Something about these two fish ...

Anyway.

Those fellas came to mind when the pottery fish heads arrived Friday from Jersey City.

Last night, the 525th episode of The Simpsons -- "What Animated Women Want" -- aired for the first time and featured Homer eating a fish head. No shit.

The fish head

Homer eats the eye because the sushi chef said it was OK

And the chef (voiced by George Takai) laughs at the prank

Well then. Other than an episode here and there, AGD hasn't watched the Simpsons for 12 or 13 years, it's just not must-see TV anymore. Joey Joe Joe and Irving Bobo watched the first 6 seasons religiously because it was storytelling at its finest, as good as anything in TV history. Viewing was less religious the next few years because the show had become chintzy, and then it was like, meh, what's the point?

Based on a llama journalist's shout to check out "The '80s: The Decade That Made Us" on the NatGeo channel, AGD surfed to his favorite website looking for a downloadable version. It wasn't there but the new Simpsons episode was, and for whatever reason he clicked it. And watched it, and a fish head was prominent in a scene and this was the Denver bus terminal and Joey Joe Joe Jr. Shabadoo all over again.

After watching the episode AGD checked the Graffiti Vault to see how customers have been chalking it up the last few days. On the left wall was this fishy fella ...

Here are the other Jersey City fish pieces that arrived with the salt and pepper shakers. If something hooks your eye call (802) 447-1000 or order at www.getartbehappy.com.