DAFFY AND THE TESTAROSSA

I WAS looking for something else entirely and uncovered this treasure, examination of which raises several questions.

Flatter a fool, and work him to death.

Why celebrate precisely 16 years of service? As it turned out, this occasion marked just a little less than half of my Road & Track career. A half-time award? But how did Hachette Filipacchi divine this?

What’s more, when I started at R&T in 1979, it was part of CBS (which also owned Steinway Piano and Fender Guitar at the time). There was another owner, Peter G. Diamandis, between CBS and the French communications giant. So why should Hachette Filipacchi feel obligated to honor all of my service?

In any case, the plaque’s date, December 1995, rekindled memory of my adventure with Daffy Duck and the Ferrari Testarossa.

Daffy Duck and your author. The car is a Ferrari Testarossa.

It was in late 1995 that I was given the opportunity to babysit a Ferrari Testarossa and Mazda Miata at the grand opening of a big box store in New Jersey.

I never quite understood where this lurked in my job description, but no matter.

Promptly at 8:00 a.m., I showed up and introduced myself to the store’s principals. Not to put too fine a point on it, they were sharkskin-suited guys already chomping on cigars at that hour of the morning.

Putting finishing touches on banners, placards and the cars, they told me that the Miata was a lottery prize. At my discretion, I could offer lottery ticket buyers a short ride around the parking lot. And, if directed by one of these guys, I could even give special guests a thrill ride in the Testarossa.

But there was a crisis even before the crowd arrived. Nearby stood a tallish young lady looking a bit miffed and vaguely uncomfortable.

“The #@&%$ broad is too tall for the bunny suit,” one of the sharkskins explained, “we need to find a &#$@# costume that fits—and quick!”

And this is how Kristy found herself spending the day as Daffy Duck with the Testarossa, a Miata, a pair of Philidelphia Eagles cheerleaders and me.

I remember it as an entertaining day. Daffy and I chatted about careers in automotive public relations and the benefits of a college education. ds