Anne-Margaret Swary Columns
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Willing and Abel

By Anne-Margaret Swary The Citizen

In this economy, many of us are working a lot harder these days to continue to make ends meet.

It's easy to lose perspective on your blessings if you're working 60 hours a week at two jobs, having to watch every little penny, with little left over at the end of the month for even dinner and a movie.

The key to balancing it all, I think, is having the right attitude. But that's often easier said than done.

For a little inspiration, many of us need to look no farther than a jovial young man in a cow suit and leprechaun hat waving signs on North Roosevelt Boulevard.

He's out there every day -- often 10 hours a day -- perched upon metal posts with his Domino's Pizza sign in hand. No matter how hot or cold, how windy or rainy, he's out there waving that sign, pumping his fist, sometimes dancing and singing.

After driving by this guy almost every day for the last three months, my curiosity finally got the better of me, and I had to find out his story.

His name is Abel Gonzalez, and his "adventurous spirit" brought him here from Seattle several months ago in search of warmer climates.

The local Domino's franchise owner, Dale Ranson, had been standing out by the road with signs for a few weeks when Gonzalez convinced him to hand over the gig.

"He kept saying, 'Why don't you hire me to do that?' " Ranson said. "He kept on bugging me, and about the fifth time he asked me, I let him do it for a couple hours."

Ranson said he was amazed by his energy and positivity.

"He's got the perfect attitude about it and he enjoys it. ... I'm very glad that he approached me and didn't give up the first time he asked."

Ranson said Gonzalez's efforts have helped draw at least 100 extra customers a week into the eatery since he took over the post along the boulevard. Many customers come in and mention that they didn't even know there was a Domino's in Key West until they saw the signs advertising $5 pizzas.

Although Gonzalez has a lot of fun at his job, he takes it very seriously. He prefers to call himself a "mobile pizza vendor," explaining that even though he's not the one taking the money, he feels directly responsible for many of the sales. He rattled off information about "peak hours" and conversion rates, showing his genuine interest in his job.

"Out of 100 hits -- people who see the sign -- one will entertain the idea of going in and buying a pizza. I call that a 'super hit,' " he said.

Gonzalez said he isn't embarrassed to stand out by the road in crazy costumes. He likes knowing it grabs people's attention and makes them laugh.

"It keeps the humanity in commerce," he said.

Gonzalez likes to vary his costumes, but he said the cow is the crowd favorite. (He bases this on the number of honks and yells it gets.) His favorite, though, is the cheese slice because it's the warmest.

He said he loves when people honk and wave at him, and he has many "regulars" -- in cars, on bikes and on foot -- who yell to him or say hello every day. He also gets the occasional tip.

Just then, a man drove by hollering something out the window about Gonzalez's leprechaun hat.

"He's by far one of my most incomprehensible fans," Gonzalez said, waving back with a smile.

Gonzalez admitted it's hard when people yell disparaging things at him or say what he does is pathetic.

"It takes a will," he said. "But it's one out of 100. One rotten potato shouldn't ruin the other 99."

In those moments, he tries to focus on the nice things people say to him.

Gonzalez, who was born in New Mexico, is vague about his background, but claims to have traveled the world on a Merchant Marine ship. He listed some of the far locales he's visited, including Brazil and Mozambique.

"He's very intelligent," Ranson said. "He surprises a lot of people. He speaks five languages fluently."

Gonazles proved it by switching effortless between Spanish and Portuguese to speak with two of his co-workers, and speaking French to me. He's one of those great examples of not judging a book by its cover.

So the next time you are feeling down and out about work and life, think of Abel. Remember how he chooses to take what some consider an unseemly job with exhausting hours and make it fun. And by all means, give him a honk and a wave.

Anne-Margaret Swary is The Citizen's business editor. Her column runs exclusively every other Sunday. She can be reached at amswary@keysnews.com.