If you grew up in Detroit like I did, this stove was one of the more memorable landmarks in Detroit. For years it stood at the corner of Jefferson and E. Grand Blvd. near the Belle Isle Bridge. It was relocated to the Michigan State Fairgrounds where we finally tracked it down. Lindsey (a newbie to this site) and Andy were with us when we grabbed this opportunity for a photo. The Fairgrounds were “closed” but we managed to get the photo anyway. Thanks to “you know who.”
I was at the Do-It-Best Hardware seasonal show here in Indianapolis. We are a new vendor to Do-It-Best and this was a great experience for someone who likes walking around the hardware section of the store. In fact, Ben and I used to go to the hardware store just to walk around and look at the tools. A father son experience!
I was in Hong Kong staying at the Hotel Nikko, which was very nice. Good rooms, good location and a very pleasant experience. I was traveling with Milan who took these photos. We had to take these pretty late so the quality is not so great, I think we were on the way back from the Tailors where I was having a suit made. I never had a custom-made suit, what an interesting experience.. I also had 3 shirts custom tailored.
The car washes in Southwest Indiana have a lot of Big Thigs. These boots were out in front of one of the car washes in Vincennes. I probably could have spent more time there since, it seems, there may be a competition between car washes to see who can have the most, or better, Big Things.
This ia a planned shot for our trip to South Indiana. These feed storage bins shows that a sense of humor exists everywhere. This was not an easy image to capture and Hats Off to Deb for her ability to climb through ditchs and up embankments in pursuit of the perfect image.
Deb and I went to Philadelphia during her Spring Break. We had a great time, stopping at Nancy and Tony’s cabin. We went from there to the Phillies game where they set a record, being the first professional team to lose 10,000 games. We made history! Anyway, there was this diversion for kids and seekers after of Big Things. This photo is the result.
I was in “Red China” to visit some vendors and also went to a customers China sourcing office. As we entered the lobby of their building there was this large bag. I proceeded to get my photo taken, and just in time I might say, since shortly after this image was captured the building guard came running to tell me that we could not take a photo like this. Go figure, what’s the harm?
Deb and I were on our way home after a real nice stay in Louisville where we visited for our anniversary. We stayed in a downtown hotel suite with a tremendous view of the Ohio River. There are other images from this trip on the site. This one was taken at a lumberyard in Ohio. Not exactly easy to find but when you are after Big Things you have to persevere. Don’t wait for them to come to you, or you are in for disappointment.
Here’s an intriguing image, not so much as to look at as to get. Seems like this Big Leg is part of a sundial at the Sun Aura Resort, which just happens to be a “Clothing Optional” resort — and you know what that means. Well, I’ve been taking these photos for a long time and I wasn’t going to be deterred, (even if it was late November) from achieving my objective! (ps. if sun worship is your thing, Sun Aura as well as the Ponderosa Sun Club are about 3 miles west of I-65 off exit 230 in Indiana.) Can you believe it — 2 nudist camps in Indiana? They must be coming down from Chicago. (btw: I have another version of this photo that I submitted to a Roadside America photo contest and won an RCA Small Wonder camcorder. That photo is posted on their website.)
Deb and I were on our way to see the Dalai Lama — I needed to get my karma adjusted. We made a small side trip to get this chair, which I’ve been after for a while. It’s in the Guinness Book and can be found on US-31 outside Long’s Furniture in Amnity. The Dalai Lama was in Bloomington at Indiana University and this chair, while not on the way was close enough. By the way, we stopped for breakfast at Don and Dona’s restaurant in downtown Franklin. Highly recommended! Friendly folks and great food.
This 2 story chest of drawers makes up a rare two-fer. I wanted a photo of the World’s Largest Rocking Chair when “quell surprise,” we got to Long’s Furniture and found this beauty. I would usually stop in the store and drop off a “Jim’s Big Things” business card and let the owner know that I took a photo there but we were short on time and I didn’t want to keep the Dalai waiting.
Another Oldie but Goodie. I just rediscovered this shot in the archieves. Ben gave me tickets for an Indianapolis Indians game as a Father’s Day present. Which, of course, meant he was coming in for a visit. Well, the tickets were for the same weekend as the NASCAR Brickyard race. Never having been to a NASCAR race I bought tickets. Long story short, this inflatable was in the lot outside the raceway. PS. Jimmie Johnson, my driver, won there again.
Andy and I were playing golf at a course near his North Wales, Pennsylvania place and wandered into the club house. When lo and behold, there was a Big Golf Ball. I just needed to get my photo taken and all I had was my Razor phone. Maybe not the best quality but you have to learn to sacrifice to get the shot when it presents itself.
On Interstate 70, just as you pass into Indiana from Ohio, is Warm Glow Candle. And or course what better way to advertise their business than this Large Candle. It looks to have grown from a small family business into a nice size business. If you like candles and knick knacks Warm Glow is your type of place.
Deb and I were on our way home on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and thought we would drop down to Chambersburg for lunch. We took I-81 South and were cruising along when she exclaimed, “look at that!” Certainly the largest paint can I’ve ever seen. Of course we had to travel another 4 miles before we could exit. We trekked back on secondary roads and finally found this big can of paint outside The Door Shop.
On our way to get a photo of the Hershey’s Kissmobile we stopped at the CVS store where Deb, the ever vigilant Bird Dog, had previously spotted this larger than life bottle of Sunblock. It was sitting right on the front counter so I asked the checkout gal if I could take my picture with it. She gave me a strange look (not a new experience in this pursuit) but I showed her a couple of photos from my travel book and then she said “go ahead.”
Working again, this time at the Global Sourcing Electronics Fair in Hong Kong. Folks after my own heart, putting a Big Thing in their booth. Of course I had to stop and get my photo with this Big Thing.
Of course I’m not the only one that thinks that Bigger is Better. Gibson Guitar obviously thinks so too. Flanking the entrance to their tent at CES they had two Big Guitars. While Steve was taking these pictures I heard a voice call out, “Hey, no Big Pictures allowed here.” It was Dick Valente coming to meet one of his customers.
One of the benefits of my job is I have some input into our display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year. Of course, I recommended we have a BIG iPod package! So we did it and here’s the result. Pretty cool, and it worked out well as part of the display too.
Ben and Annie spotted a lot of Big Things at Cherry Hill Mall last Christmas and told me we had to go there! Since Sears.com sent Ben an LCD telephone instead of the wrench set I ordered, I needed to make a trip to the mall anyway so I was able to get this image. Unfortunately, even though I wrote a pretty good letter, I still haven’t received a response yet from Sears. Let that be a lesson.
