Hai, Billy Mays Here!

I didn't think I would say this publicly, but I now have a new-found respect and admiration for the television useless crap salesman Billy Mays. I have had a difficult time liking that high-pitched screetch of a voice that can be heard all the way to Patagonia. But he seems to be a likeable person. I would assume that there are some people who love him dearly.

I sat with laughter and amazement last night watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Mays did a sales bit on the show with a Shakespearean twist to it. This is a guy who can actually make fun of himself and have a good time doing it. This self-effacing attitude is a trait that marks him as okay in my book because it takes a certain amount of humility to do what he did last night.

My knowledge of Shakespear is quite limited, but I can usually identify it when I hear famous lines, as long as I'm not asked what plays they're from (so don't ask!). Mays skillfully integrated famous lines from Shakespearean plays with his sales pitch for Oxy Clean and the Big City Slider Station (I forgot which other ones he peddled). I actually laughed the hardest when he said, "But wait! Call right now and I'll throw in...a horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!"

What added to the comedy was Mays' sidekick, dressed as a Shakespearean character, pulling those goofy products out of a wooden chest that was inlaid with velvet cloth so that Mays could continue with his schtick.

So, Bravo! to Billy Mays. I can guarantee that Shakespear was rolling over in his grave. But not to worry-- he's used to it!