Go see Cal! (Pussycow.)

If you were anything like me, a kid growing up near enough to Los Angeles that you got most of their TV stations, you know Cal Worthington. The commercials for his various car dealerships featured the earwormiest of earworms. "If you want a car or truck, GO SEE CAL!" See for yourself:

Advertising works. Every time we visited LA and passed by a Worthington-owned dealership I got a little excited. Why? I don't know. I had no interest in cars and certainly could not afford one at the age of six (almost 30 years later, I'm no closer to car ownership. HA!). 

I think I just loved thinking about Cal and Spot, who was a different animal every time. The exotic permutations of Spot: tiger, elephant, snake. Less exciting: goat.

Honestly, I had no idea that Cal was still alive, but on my last trip to LA, listening to my favorite old-school rap station K-DAY, I heard a totally updated Worthington Ford commercial that made me wonder who's running the business these days. Turns out, it's Cal! He's still kicking.

I wanted to commemorate my rediscovery of Cal, because, duh! He's a legend, and when I see that a legend has gone uncrafted (see: Jeff Goldblum), I have to remedy the situation.

Cross-stitch seemed like the best way to do this as I'm not the most creative freehand embroiderer. I started with the Cross Stitch Family Portrait templates from Martha Stewart. You can add little details as needed and it was pretty easy to sketch up a classic Cal hat and suit.

Cal Worthington Trivia: 

• The Facebook Group "When I was a kid I thought Cal Worthington said 'Pussycow' not 'Go See Cal'" has 70,000 members.
• Cal is 92 years old.
• At 90 he married an 42-year-old Icelandic singer-songwriter (NOT BJORK). 

Here's the finished product! During my extensive research for this important historical project, I found out a lot about the man behind the pussycow. It was fun. This short interview with Cal a few years ago was actually pretty incredible. Dude has seen a lot since 1920 and was obviously a very prudent businessman as he has been a kazillionaire forever. So there you have it; the commemorative Cal Worthington cross-stitch project. Enjoy, and PUSSYCOW!