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Tacky Tiki, Kensington, Maryland

November 10, 2011

In Kensington, Maryland, there is a replica of an Easter Island Head (also known as a moai) looking south toward Washington, D.C.  It was created about 15 or 20 years ago to appear on  a high school parade float sponsored by a local gas station.  For many years, it stood across the street from the Wheaton-Glenmont police station.  However, it was recently discovered, nicely repainted, at the Getty gas station in Kensington.  Unfortunately, it’s got a nasty gash on the side of its head.  Who would do such a thing?  I think it’s sad that some people don’t respect and value what little quirkiness we have in the D.C. area.

I, for one, have had an obsession with Big Heads for some time.  Whether it is the magnificently tacky Mount Rushmore, or the questionable Crazy Horse Monument, or the ridiculous now-defunct Presidents Park in Williamsburg; we Americans can’t seem to shake our need for gigantic noggins.  So, you vandals in Montgomery County, leave our big head alone!