Stick Family!

The Sticks are baaaaack...

2010-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

A happy Stick family with a truly enormous baby.

Wal-Mart Sticks

2007-03-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

El Paso's Stick families are very prevalent in Wal-Mart parking lots... Sorry about the pic — cell phone photo.

More Albertson's Sticks

2007-03-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Nemo the fish is part of this Stick family. Sorry the photo is fuzzy. It was taken with my cell phone camera.

The Sticks get some groceries at Albertsons

2006-11-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

Here's Estela, Alonso, Viole, Vero and Augstin... they probably need some snacks and a movie.

The Sticks need coats...

2006-09-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

These Sticks were checkin' out Burlington Coat Factory on El Paso's Westside. There's even a stick dog! Sorry for the cell phone pic.

Sick Sticks at Sun Harvest

2006-09-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

This Stick family is in serious need of repair. Mom's missing half her body, and the daughters are... well... strangely absent. Sorry for the cell phone pic.

The Sticks go for a blue light special

2006-08-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the pic quality... took it with my cell. Seems the Sticks were visiting Big K today, but didn't want to divulge their names.

The Sticks cruise Hobby Lobby

2006-08-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

Here's Raul and Gloria, and their kids Priscilla, Valerie and Carlos.

Stick family at Cielo Vista Mall #2

2006-08-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

This proud stick family consists of Dad, Mom and their kids Sergio, Andrés and Baby Marco.

I kid you not, this SUV was only two cars away from the first one.

Just a note: I'm not actively looking for stick families. I keep a cheapo camera in my car at all times, and just snap 'em as I see 'em.

Stick family at Cielo Vista Mall #1

2006-08-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

One I discovered at Cielo Vista Mall here in El Paso. Seems a little forlorn... no family member names...

So... what are stick families?

2006-08-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I started noticing stick families being displayed in full glory on the backs of vehicles here in my home town of El Paso, Texas. Most of them were emblazoned on the backs of minivans and SUVs (probably because it's the most visible way to show off one's stick family).

At first, I thought these stick families were kind of ridiculous... sort of a "two decades after" version of the "Baby on Board" signs and their many offspring that cropped up all over the place from 1985-87. I remember being a senior in high school, hand drawing one of those skewed yellow squares with the brilliant statement: "Corona in car" (yes, the yellow square rage was the same time as the very first Corona Beer rage, and yes, there's nothing most genius that a teenager can do to attract attention from a school's narcs than post something that says you have booze in your vehicle. What the hell was I thinking?!!?!).

Well, not to deviate too much from this blog's original "intent"... I now find these stick families as charming kitsch. Maybe it's because I have a family of my own (albeit, we're not in stick form on the back of my car), maybe because it's kind of a cultural statement (look at my family; we're all here, and we're proud). Whatever it is, stick families are stuck all over tailgates and windows throughout El Paso.

Now, I'd love to add your stick family photo contribution, so please feel free to mail it to me, and I'll be glad to post it. I will eliminate the license plate number. Also, if you ARE a stick family, please let me know! You get extra credit for sending me a photo of your flesh-and-blood family right next to your vehicle's stick family! Double bonus points if you're in the same order as your stick family! All the stick families I will post are from here in El Paso, Texas. Please let me know where your photograph was taken.

And.......enjoy......!