I heard the news last week that the creator of Gumby passed away at the age of 88. So it seems fitting that, even before he died and perhaps unbeknownst to him, he is being memorialized on a grand scale here in Shanghai.
Several years ago, we barely paid attention when Shanghai unveiled the new mascot for the then-distant World Expo 2010. Looks like Gumby, my sons yawned. But Haibo, as the blue near-knockoff creature is known here, has since become ubiquitous. Gumbys greet you at the airport,
adorn the Expo ads pasted everywhere promising Better City, Better Life, 
cuddle up as soft toys and dangle on the ends of keychains, 
and are carved into topiaries at traffic intersections.
My favorite rendition is in a park along a major boulevard in Gubei. How about this multi-cultural festival of Gumbys frolicking under the already-bizarre (permanent) flowerpot sculpture!
And I guess that would be the American Gumby/Haibo under the ten-gallon hat!
Art Clokey must be smiling.
I now have a birthday request – a blue Gumby keychain!!
And yours it shall be!! Easy for me to get… unless you want to come pick it out yourself! Kathy