It is time to bid goodbye – yes to the old year and to the monster balloons and inflatables. Those big, ugly meanies that find residence in almost all car dealerships and a variety of other retail locations across town are being kicked out. They need to be off by Friday. I cannot say I will be sad to see them go. On the other hand, I will be happy-extremely happy to see those ugly monsters go.

The Cit y of Houston says removing the inflatables will improve the image of the city. I am not sure if I agree with it. The image any city is not mainly visual – a part of it is visual. But lot of it depends on the quality of life, the roads, the activities, the theater scene etc. But removing the inflatables does make my day a lot better. Those big ugly inflatables are not the kind of things that I would want to see during my regular commute.

To bussiness owners it serves a purpose – attention grabbing. But that does not really mean bussiness for them. For example, I would never choose a car dealership based on their inflatable but I may avoid a delearship due to their inflatable.

Here is KHOU’s article and a link to the Public Works Department’s rules