The gnews from gnome

Is he thirteen feet tall from heel to the top of his head or thirteen feet tall from the tips of his pointed shoes to the tip of his pointy cap?

KERHONKSON — The gnews is gnot good for Chomsky, the giant garden gnome.

For four years, the 13.5-foot icon that stands astride at Homegrown Mini Golf and Kelder's Farm on Route 209 has reigned supreme as the world's tallest garden gnome.

Now, according to Guinness World Records, Chomsky has been out-talled by not one but two newcomers: a 15-footer from Iowa State University and an even taller 17-foot, 8-inch fiberglass model from Poland.

Chomsky, as is his wont, had no comment on his comeuppance. But the woman who made what he is — artist-in-residence Maria Reidelbach — had plenty to say.

You can read the plenty she has to say in Jeremiah Horrigan’s story, Rivals out-tall Ulster gnome, in the Times Herald-Record.

There’s controversy too: Fiberglass vs. concrete.

My favorite quote is from a local musician who sings the praises Chomsky’s unbreakable spirit.

"He still gazes west with that confidence and joy that he has always exuded. I would wager that Chomsky would kick the ass of any of these other gnomes.”

Comments

[mac macgillicuddy]

Hat tip to anyone who figures out how to steal either of these guys and move them around the world, sending back photos to the owners.