[Groop]Groo's Shoes, Groo Street, Groo's First Name!

Gary Grossmann grossfam@olywa.net
Mon, 18 Feb 2002 09:36:08 -0800


Hi Folks!

Gary Groo.  It's hard to believe.

Hmmm.  Maybe the fact that he sells shoes and Groo never wears shoes has
given him some sort of protection from the Groo effect. Larry, when you see
him, tell him NEVER to go barefoot!  (Hopefully meeting a hard core Groopie
will not shatter this protection.)

btw, I'll be gone for a few days, so if anyone asks me something, I'm not
ignoring you.
Take care all (and wear shoes!)  -Gary G.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Steller" <lawrencesteller@yahoo.com>
To: <groop@groo.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 10:21 PM
Subject: [Groop]Groo's Shoes, Groo Street, Groo's First Name!


> Well THAT was interesting!
>
> My plan for the day was to head up to Middletown, NY
> and take a picture of the GROO STREET sign, then head
> down to Monroe, NY to  check out GROO'S SHOES.
>
> Now, I had heard GROO'S SHOES has two locations, one
> in Middletown and one in Monroe, but since my buddy
> Jim said he knows how to get to the one in Monroe, I
> figured it would be easier to meet up with him and
> check it out after I photographed GROO STREET.
>
> So armed with a rented minivan, my digital camera and
> a microcassette to record my thoughts, I headed to
> Middletown...
>
> Ahhh, but FIRST, I sort of never quite got around to
> picking up a blank tape for my microcassette, so I
> stopped at an electronics store in Middletown, made my
> purchase and was about to get in the minivan when I
> saw...IT!!!
>
> A SIGN!!!
>
> A sign which simply read: GROO'S SHOES!!!
>
> Like a lost explorer (well, I wasn't actually
> lost...YET) I had stumbled across the Middletown
> location!
>
> (And you'll all get to see my pix  when I get my web
> site up and running; meanwhile I can email pix to
> anyone who responds to this...)
>
> I snapped a couple of pix and headed inside.
>
> Step 1: Browse. Hmmm, nice store, clean, well laid
> out, uncluttered. A woman named Michelle asked to help
> me, and I picked out a pair of shoes and settled in
> (hey, I needed shoes anyway).
>
> Step 2: The Spiel. Michelle was curious why I was
> taking pictures outside the store- she was afraid I
> was somehow up to no good - so I explained about Groo
> (VERY BRIEFLY!!! I know enough NOT to bore non-fans),
> about my Groo Trek to take pix of GROO STREET & GROO'S
> SHOES, and my accidental discovery of this store
> location. She said she'd heard once before that there
> was a comic book called Groo...
>
> Step 3: The Pitch. So then I asked about GROO'S SHOES
> shopping bags. Would it be possible to buy a
> semi-large amount, so I can give them to GROO fans
> around the world?
>
> She said she'd give me a handful (18) for now, and
> she'd let me know after she spoke with her boss. I
> gave her a free copy of THE LIFE OF GROO, and gave her
> my name and number.  She said she'd have her boss call
> me this week.
>
> THE PUNCH LINE: Oh, and her boss's name. Well, maybe
> you guessed  PART of it, but I bet none of you guessed
> ENTIRELY right.
>
> Of course his name is Groo.
>
> Yes, Groo...
>
> GARY GROO!!!!
>
> Is that PERFECT or what!!!???
>
> I chuckled surprisingly mildly, and explained (once
> again BRIEFLY) to Michelle exactly WHY I found her
> boss's name so funny... Seems there's this guy named
> GARY GROSSMANN who is, for lack of a better word, our
> GROO GURU (I think I'm the first to call him this, let
> me know if anyone else ever considered this). I also
> explained that it was especially funny that the store
> was called GROO'S SHOES because Groo doesn't WEAR
> shoes (snicker, snicker).
>
> Anyway, I bought my shoes and headed out for GROO
> STREET. I found it easily, without getting lost (yet);
> it's a tiny little street with three houses on the
> left and two on the right, a totally unremarkable
> little street that is just slightly (only slightly) on
> the run-down side.
>
> Hmmm, I wonder what Gary (Grossmann) would pay for one
> of those houses? Sorry, no FOR SALE signs.
>
> I took my pix and then called my buddy (of course a
> Groo Fan himself) and said I'd be at his house in a
> half hour.
>
> An hour later I called to tell him I was hopelessly
> lost, and when I tried to describe my surroundings he
> just couldn't fathom where in the world I could be.
> Finally his wife recognized where I must be, and we
> arranged for him to meet me and continue the final leg
> of the Groo Trek.
>
> While I was waiting, I caved in to impatience and
> called Gary (Grossmann  that is - now we can't just
> call him GARY!!!) to tell him that of course I got
> lost during my Groo Trek, and that Groo's first name
> REALLY IS Gary.
>
> While I was chatting with Desessbo my friend Jim drove
> up and IMMEDIATELY joked that of COURSE I got lost
> going to GROO'S SHOES!!! I hung up with Gary and we
> made it to the second location, GROO'S FAMILY SHOE
> CENTER.
>
> I got there about an hour AFTER it closed. Oops.
>
> By the look of the place, I kind of think this one in
> Monroe may be the original location, although since
> Gary Groo is located in the Middletown Store
> (according to Michelle) , it would seem to make sense
> that THAT is the original. We'll see after I speak
> with Mr. Groo.
>
> Anyway, that ends my long-winded Groo Report.
> Hopefully I'll get up to Middletown again next weekend
> to meet Mr. Groo in person, otherwise I'll have to
> settle for interviewing him by phone.
>
> I'll keep you posted!!!
>
> One more thing, email me privately if you want a
> plastic GROO'S SHOES shopping bag. If the total
> postage doesn't get TOO expensive, I'll send some out
> to the first who respond and to the rest if I get a
> second batch. I'll probably have to limit The Groop to
> 1 bag  each, depending on how many bags I end up with
> versus how many requests for bags I get.
>
> Hey Mark, if you stayed with me this long, how many of
> these bags should I put aside for you, Sergio, Stan,
> Tom, and Dark Horse peoples? If I manage to be allowed
> to purchase a large amount of these bags, I'll give
> all the leftovers to Sergio; I figure he'll get a kick
> out of being able to have GROO'S SHOES bags for fans
> who buy things from him at conventions.
>
> By the way, the beige plastic shopping bag has a
> legend which says:
>
> Groo's Shoes "We fit your family"
>
> That's all for now, I'll let you all know what Gary
> Groo has to say!!!
>
>
> =====
> -Larry Steller
> New York, New York
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Sports - Coverage of the 2002 Olympic Games
> http://sports.yahoo.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Groop maillist  -  Groop@groo.com
> http://mailman.newdream.net/mailman/listinfo/groop