What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore) Page: 33
xi, 310 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Neiman-Marcus Lore From The Inside
recently opened a new store at Bal Harbour, Florida, we
had them shipped from London to Miami to be exhibited at
Christmas in the new store.
A few nights later, I was awakened by a telephone call
from the manager of our Bal Harbour store. He was very
agitated and excited by the discovery that one of the cases
contained a mummy! He wanted to know what to do with
his unexpected guest. "Get a doctor the first thing in the
morning to examine the mummy and provide you with a
death certificate, for it is against the law to import corpses,
mummified or not, or to transport them across interstate
lines, without a death certificate. Then call the customs
inspector and tell him that we have unwittingly imported a
mummy, but we think we have cured the situation by get-
ting a death certificate. After you've done all this, put the
mummy in cold storage, and above all don't talk about it."
Our "His and Her" mummy cases made front-page news all
over the world and were taped for TV for both the BBC
and U.S. networks. We didn't have a very good prospect
list for mummy cases, but we did call them to the attention
of several Miami art collectors, hoping they might give
them to the local museum. Two weeks before Christmas,
we received a call from a man who identified himself as a
brother in a philosophical order that might have an interest
in acquiring them. "Would you send them out to the West
Coast on approval?" This had all of the earmarks of a
prank, so we declined, but politely offered to send one of
the cases to Dallas, which was halfway, if he would like to
examine it. We also suggested that he bring an adequate
down payment with him. He arrived a week later, was
satisfied with the one case he saw, paid the deposit, and
promised to pay the balance on the delivery of the other
case in California. It came up to their expectations, and
they paid off promptly. We had made our first sale of
mummy cases, but we weren't encouraged sufficiently to
install a mummy case department.33
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What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore) (Book)
Volume of "a collection of essays by contemporary folklorists who are writing about the customs and traditions and the songs and the stories that are going on now" (inside the front cover). It includes information about the folklore of cowboys, rodeos, chain letters and marijuana, as well as information about country, swing and gospel music. Index begins on page 301.
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Abernethy, Francis Edward. What's Going On? (In Modern Texas Folklore), book, 1976; Austin, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38877/m1/51/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.