In the beginning, there was the Filet-o-Fish ad, and it was good

I was in CVS the other day – looking for Good ‘n Plenty, if you must know – when my eye was grabbed by a bright blue box that held a fish plaque that plays the McDonald’s “Give Me Back That Filet-o-Fish” jingle.

Only $19.99!

If people are back to frittering away good money on objects like this, then perhaps The Great Recession is over. Or maybe this is akin to watching Fred twirl Ginger around the nightclub dance floor during The Great Depression: pure escapism.

I will admit, I’m a bit hooked – hah! – on those McD ads – even though I have never actually eaten a Filet-o-Fish sandwich.  And, given my fear that an animatronic fish might start carping – sorry – at me before I took the first bite, I’m not about to try one now.

Give me back that filet o fish
Give me that fish
Give me back that filet o fish
Give me that fish

What if it were you
Hanging up on this wall?
If it were you in that sandwich
You wouldn’t be laughing at all!

Nope. I’m not about to delve into existential questions when all I want is a more or less happy meal – although, indeed, it is completely and utterly true if it were me hanging up on the wall, I certainly wouldn’t be laughing. Fish food for thought, as it were.

Despite the Filet-o-Fish plaque having some potential as a Yankee Swap item – only 9 more months until Christmas, by the way - I didn’t go for the bait at CVS. (It may yet lure me in, come December, if I’m floundering around sans Yankee Swap gift.)

But this inquiring mind did want to learn more about the plaque, which led me to Gemmy, which, for over 25 years, has been meeting our need for “seasonal décor, animated gifts and unique novelty items.”

Our creative approach to product development and hands-on attitude has lead to the success of recognizable brands such as the Airblown Inflatables and SnowGlobes, the Dancing Hamsters, Buck the Animated Trophy, The Frogz, and the unforgettable Big Mouth Billy Bass – many of which have been featured on The Tonight Show, in USA Today, The Washington Post and Maxim magazine.

So, now we know who to thank for those now ubiquitous inflatable holiday decorations. And for Big Mouth Billy Bass. I’m guessing that Frankie Filet-o-Fish is his spawn. (Side comment: is this the first time The Washington Post and – hey, baby -  Maxim have kept such close company?)

Well, as Gemmy says:

We pride ourselves in creating cutting edge products - whether you’re looking for the perfect decoration or the perfect gift, we’ve got you covered.

And what with Easter fast upon us, I was interested to see what holiday-themed, cutting edge goodies are in store for us.

All sort of ‘em, as it happens, including these plastic egg-hunt eggs:

Now, I fully understand why no one wants to hard-boil up, and decorate, a whole bunch of eggs to hide – especially when no kid in their right mind wants to eat a hard-boiled egg, especially one that may have cracked a bit and have some oogie-oogie green or blue dye leeching into the egg white, when they’ve got an Easter basket full of jelly beans and chocolate bunnies to gnaw on.

So, I get why people go for the plastic eggs and stuff them with jelly beans, nickels, plastic rings, and other little stuff that kids can’t get enough of.

But camo egss?  Camo eggs?

Sure, there’s a war or two on.

And boys will be boys, and, thus, desirous of boy stuff.

Camo eggs?

No, it’s not as bad as the stuffed Torah I saw in a catalog a few years back. Or the teddy-bear Nativity scene that came out about the same time.

But camo eggs?

That’s just plain wrong.

Gimme back that filet-o-fish, any old day.