Overview:
Now it can be told.
We have a new household member, so to speak.
Hedy has a new home but will continue to model clothes. (FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)
By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor
Now it can be told.
We have a new household member, so to speak.
Her name is Hedy, and she has an interesting tale to share, so to speak, even if she can’t speak.
You see, Hedy is a headless mannequin that my wife procured from the Massapequa Soccer and Sport Shop’s final Saturday last month.
Before you rush to judgment, let me explain.
We visited the Massapequa Park, N.Y. store during its final weekend.
I have known the Bodenstein family for years. The original Soccer Week offices were across the street and I would deliver the weekly newspaper to them on a regular basis. If I had some extra time, I would talk to whomever was there.
Heck, I remember when I went to the store to buy myself a birthday present in 1987. There was a set of pins from the 1986 World Cup in Mexico that caught my eye.
Saturday, June 28 was a special day for the Bodensteins (Alan and Mark are the sons of the stores founders, Gene and Fay, and Helen Fishman is the daughter) because they were holding a special sale on the final weekend of the store. The iconic shop, which has been around since 1973, was closing because the family is retiring and moving to Florida.
I got to see and talk to some old soccer friends and met some new ones as well.
An interesting sight piqued Joy’s interest – a nude female mannequin standing in the corner of the store.
Joy has started a crochet business, but needed something to model her clothes and outfits. This mannequin looked like the perfect size.
There were various signed shirts and memorabilia on sale, but there was no price tag on the mannequin. So, we asked Alan Bodenstein how much mannequin costs. After arranging an agreement, we were the owners of a new mannequin, even though we didn’t know if she could fit in the car.
And before that, there was the challenge of carrying a naked mannequin out of the store in front of dozens of customers.
In what had to be a surreal sight, there I was carrying her sideways toward the front door.
I figured I would give some advance warning, while laughing about the situation to myself.
“There’s nothing to see here folks! There is nothing to see!” I said several times before exiting the store, stage right.
I told Joy I thought we were in an episode of M*A*S*H.
Joy said it was more Seinfeld.
No matter, it was funny. Well, at least it was to us.
And yes, we managed to find room to fit the headless mannequin into our car and drove her to her new home.
We decided to name her Hedy.
We know she will have productive new life, even if her soccer modeling days were over.
Hedy is about to start a new phase of her modeling
career. (FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)