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“Signore! Signore! Please help me, I’m a tourist and I’m lost, where is the freeway? I need to go the airport…” My still numbed mind, after a two hours bus trip from rural northern San Diego, took a while to process this Vittorio Gassman character talking to me. I told him to turn on Beach Boulevard and take the 405 North. “ Grazie, signore, grazie!” As I continued to walk towards the ATM machine, I hear another “Signore, signore, wait, another favor, please help me.” I approached him again and he asked me, do you know Giorgio Armani?
I thought he was talking about another Italian actor or soccer player, but then I remembered advertisements in malls and magazines. I said to him I’ve heard that name, a perfume brand perhaps. “NO signore! Jackets, leather jackets, very expensive jackets. I work for the Armani’s company, and yesterday we had a show in San Diego, and my boss allowed me to keep four of them as a bonus. I want to give them to you for $250, otherwise I will have to pay duty taxes.” I said no, thank you, I don’t wear jackets, not even leather jackets. “But signore, please help me!”
I was going to walk away but my brain was still in the gambling mode from my bus trip. I sent pictures of the jacket to a friend who works in a high class fashion store, she didn’t receive them but told me to give the guy $200, she would resell them in her home country. I gave him $220 as he begged to give him an extra $20 for gas… I went to drink a yerba mate tea and while doing so I googled to see how much the jackets cost, and the first link coming up was… “Italian guy selling armani jackets.”
By then, between the effect of the caffeine and the shock of having been fooled, my brain shifted to an analytical mood. How come I didn’t question the paisan‘s story? A tourist without GPS or directions to a major airport? The numbness of the casino trip plus the heat stroke from my previous day’s gardening, must have affected my decision-making skills. I called my fashion store friend and she said, “Don’t worry, I will recoup the money and probably make a profit.”
This happened in Vern’s former hometown of Huntington Beach. I felt weird acting like a petit-bourgeois while Vern had taken up residence in the proletarian confines of Anna Drive, managing the campaign of his wife for city council in Anaheim, a police reform advocate in a district with strong “blue lives matter” sentiments. At least it didn’t happened at , as my old radical friends used to say, the fascist island in Newport Beach…
After reading how extensive and old this Armani scam is, I contacted the HB police as the cameras of the credit union may have captured the images of this man and his car. The response was that scams like this one are not investigated. I sent them this link to an article on how a police department in Northern CA had taken a different approach.
I didn’t know how expensive Armani jackets are, and the outrage provoked when Hillary wore one, in a speech about income inequality of all things – a $12,000 jacket! Greg may have already discussed this in Facebook; if he hasn’t, don’t tell him! The recent political outrage provoked by Ivanka Trump, was not because of her distortion of her father’s views but by the marketing of the wardrobe she worn at the RNC.
The culture of hyper-fashion consumption makes it tempting to go completely off the grid, especially when the political process excludes the people who can’t afford or care about brand name products, and when the planet may not longer support higher levels of consumerism. It is not a choice though, we must remain engaged, especially when there is a clear and present danger of a racist madman!
I had been wondering where you have been — but I never guessed that it would be buying “Armani jackets” from a Vittorio Gassmann lookalike in Huntington Beach! A Pat Riley lookalike, sure….
How do you know the guy looks like Pat Riley? You must be used to this type of characters. This Armani scammer was smoother than the klepto pushing the luxury hotels in Anaheim.
If you have a chance to take a break from the kleptos obsessed with you, watch the off the grid movie “Captain Fantastic”. You may enjoy it.
My fun these days is taking care of my grandson. Plot twists and dialogue beyond the finest movies.
I really hope this is just a story… if not i have some really nice purses to sell you at a really nice price…
lol & back to what Hilary was wearing, famous people are given clothes left and right and why is it so wrong to take it? Mens suits cost thousands of dollars & nobody ever seems to mention that. Im not an Ivanka fan, not even close, but if a woman wants to wear a nice dress and looks decent in it, then i applaud that. Woman are always being looked under a microscope, and it’s just the fact of the matter. I can go into the poorest neighborhoods in my area and they have nicer clothes, furniture, cars, than i do probably.
We need to stop focusing on the things that dont matter. The clothes we are wearing, the prices we pay for them. If when you buy it you feel good then by all means buy it. Like my mother says, cuando te estes muriendo de hambre dale mordisas a tus zapatos, carro, etc… We need to focus on the things that matter….
but in the end yes… if buying that $200 jacket made you feel good for a moment, pues you got a deal… im glad i don’t have $200 extra in my bank account cause even if it was gonna be replaced with a profit, i wouldn’t be able to buy it. Lol
I may buy your purses…it is not a story. This estafador guy has been around for a long time. If you read the articles linked, I am not the only one having had a pendejo moment…failing in a greedy entrepreneurship attempt.
Nothing wrong looking nice and decent, the problem is the hyper promotion of expensive fashion as a superfluous symbol of status and false self-esteem.
Politicians wearing expensive clothes, especially when campaigning in front of people affected by the recession, is tactless to say the least. To accept them as gifts is unethical, and in several areas of government there are already codes of conduct enacted to discourage it . You’re right, male politicians wearing expensive clothes do not seem to be disapproved as the female ones
Anyway, follow you mother’s advise, focus on the things that matter….