People who know me will tell you that I love mascots, and the truth is I do. In fact, one day when I was mayor we were celebrating the opening of a new ferry that ran from Philadelphia to Camden, and I was to board the ferry in Philly and cross the river to meet then New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio. I decided to have a little fun and invited 25 mascots to come aboard. They came from all over the region — pro mascots, semi-pro mascots, institution mascots, and mascots of various city departments (including the notorious Captain Sewer, who decided to wear a skin-tight super hero costume, even though he was 5-8, 270 pounds. A true sight to behold). As the ferry neared shore, I could see the governor squinting at us. A boat carrying the mayor surrounded by mascots of all shapes and sizes. There was no one on the deck but us. As we got closer to the dock I could see Florio was totally stunned. After we docked, the 25 mascots, at my direction, rushed Florio, surrounded him, hugged him and started messing up his hair. Now Florio was a great public servant — honest, courageous, smart and incredibly hard-working but he had one fault. He had virtually no sense of humor so the ceremony that followed was a little strange.
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