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Frog’s jokes
continued from page 1
visited friends in 1979. He quick
ly decided to stay.
“I realized why they were liv
ing out here, so I stayed,” he said.
Frog said he has hardly used
his legal name since high school
when a friend started calling him
Frog; although, he said it was so
long ago he can’t remember why.
Now that it’s winter, he wears a
green wool hat with frog eyes and
a pullover jacket with a frog on
the front to match both the winter
weather and his nickname.
After high school, he went to
Ohio University and received his
bachelor of arts in journalism. He
wanted to be a writer but soon
discovered that working for an
employer was not for him.
“I just don’t like being told
what to do,” he said.
So Frog became his own boss
and explored a number of busi
nesses before he took some
friends’ advice and started writing
up some of the many jokes he
knew.
Selling his joke books on 13th
Avenue, however, was not that
easy. Frog found out the hard way
when, in 1990, Eugene police
started ticketing him repeatedly
for violating a law stating that
vendors can only sell flowers, bal
loons, food and beverages on the
street. Rather than paying the tick
ets, Frog said he not only contin
ued selling his joke books but he
also took the city of Eugene to
court — all the way to the Oregon
Supreme Court, that is.
In 1995, the Supreme Court de
cided that limiting the items ven
dors can sell on the street to bal
loons, flowers, food and
beverages was unconstitutional.
But Frog had only won half the
battle. He still needed a license,
which the city refused to issue be
cause it feared overcrowding on
13th Avenue. With the help of his
lawyer, Frog found a loophole in
the law and used it to his advan
tage. While street vendors need a
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Frog signs a jokebook he just sold to a Eugene resident Wednesday afternoon.
license, newspaper boxes do not.
So Frog got an old newspaper
box, painted it blue, decorated it
with a frog, chained it to a light
pole on 13th Avenue and put his
books in it. He said he now adver
tises his books and then points
customers who wish to buy a
book to the blue box.
Frog said he even called the
city prosecutor and told him
about his new way of doing his
business and has not had any
problems ever since. The court
proceedings even had some
perks, Frog said. The newspaper
coverage at the time provided free
advertising, and his sales rocket
ed, he said.
“It was the best publicity I
could have ever gotten,” he said.
He even recorded his experi
ence in yet another book — “Frog
gy goes to court.”
Elise Chandler, a junior busi
ness major said she walks by Frog
frequently and has heard him ask
other passers-by the famous ques
tion: “Have you read the funniest
joke book in the world?”
Chandler said she has won
dered about Frog before and was
curious to find out who he is, but
said she just is not the type of per
son who walks up to people and
starts a conversation.
“He’s just doing his business
and I’m doing mine,” Chandler
said.
Sachitano said she and her
friend suspected that Frog has a
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successrui ousiness wiui ms
books and lives comfortably.
“He’s gotta be rolling,” Sachi
tano said.
Frog said his business allows
him to make a living. He said he
knows he could earn more work
ing for an employer, but he likes
being his own boss and working
only about four hours a day.
“Obviously I don’t believe in
punching the clock,” he said.
Frog said he likes what he does
and although he sometimes en
joys a break, he has no plans of
doing anything else. He said he
likes his customers, many of
whom are students, faculty and
staff, and is friends with m&ny of
them. But he also said he knows
that some passers-by would rather
not have him do his job where he
does it.
Frog said he is now looking for
ward to a well-deserved break. He
is headed to Ohio at the end of
January to visit his family and en
joy watching the Super Bowl with
his mother and sister, even
though the Seattle Seahawks, his
favorite team, have already been
eliminated in the playoffs.
Frog said he loves his family
and is looking forward to the visit,
but he said he could never move
back to Ohio permanently. A cou
ple weeks is all Frog needs before
he will return to his business and
his spot on 13th Avenue.
“I’ll definitely be ready to come
back here,” he said.
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