Saturday, July 04, 2009

A few words on Mattress Mack...

...inspired by this story...

Although the firebug who torched his warehouse is still on the lam, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale today is reopening a portion of his iconic furniture store in north Houston.
McIngvale has invited the public to join him at 9:30 a.m. today for a prayer, the singing of God Bless America and other patriotic songs and free barbecue, followed by a speech by the colorful entrepreneur.
A quick-moving fire erupted in the warehouse behind the store at 6006 North Freeway during evening business hours May 21, reducing the 60,000-square-foot structure and inventory valued at more than $15 million to a pile of charred rubble....
Non-Southeast Texas readers are gonna have to bear with me here. I remember the first time I ever heard about Jim McIngvale's endeavors was more than ten years ago, when I was living in College Station. I'd hear his commercials on the Houston radio stations; while they were quite entertaining, he seemed to me at first just another fast-talking salesman. Still, though, they were quite endearing. I've written here before that hearing the Houston radio station again when I moved to Southeast Texas was like meeting up with old friends again, and he was part of the reason for that because of his huge presence. I honestly had no idea he was one of Houston's most endearing success stories, or that he was such a hell of a guy in real life. I certainly didn't think he'd let even a raging fire take his business down; I am glad to see I was right, but I certainly didn't think it would have happened in the space of six weeks.