a COOL gnome

At first glance you might want to rub your eyes and refocus, your eyes must be deceiving you, that can't be a life sized gnome that you are seeing on your way to work. At second glance and first thought you might think the grown man dressed as a garden gnome on the street corner is a little out there, if not a lot out there.

The life sized gnome is Robert Schultz, a Southeast Portland resident, who use to work as a construction inspector before being laid off. Robert has not let his current lack of work get him down, in fact his presence once or twice a month on a street corner dressed as a gnome is a testament to using laughter as a healing agent.
Schultz states, "I have a belief that you can have a positive impact on society without spending money or earning money or involving yourself in money."

The most common reaction he gets is people driving back around the block to take another look at him or to point him out to a friend. He expresses that some people come up to talk to him and that they are usually laughing, "I do hold a couple of signs, one says, 'Just Gnome Me,' and the other one says, 'Gnome for Hire.' The idea is to not look downtrodden."

He expresses that he can do jobs for anyone, he can tend a garden, hold a lantern, or just stand still. He did get a job out of it, a man asked him to sit in front of a house he was trying to sell and just wanted it to get noticed. For fifty bucks he stood there for two hours and he is pleased to announce the man was successful in selling the house.

He got the idea for the gnome when his son came down with leukemia and found the atmosphere in the hospital to be very negative. He didn't feel as this was the proper environment for children to heal in. He felt he could make a positive change dressed as a gnome and it grew from there. His wife is supportive of his new found gnomish alter ego except for one aspect, "She says don't wear the hat to bed."

Here's to you Robert Schultz for not getting down about being laid off and for looking to heal others through laughter-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of Robert Schultz dressing up like a gnome and standing on street corners in an attempt to make others laugh?