If we didn't know better, we might suggest that you'd had one cocktail too many at the Suncoast and that this all-weather flag-wielding gesticulator might be the product of an over-lubricated imagination.
However, you can rest assured that the gentleman indeed exists and is one of Las Vegas' more interesting eccentrics, in the tradition of Harry Perry -- The Rockin' Rollerblader of Venice Beach fame, San Francisco's "World Famous Bushman" (Fisherman's Wharf), or Flash, San Diego's festively and scantily attired Mission Beach staple, who's rumored to be a university professor.
Thanks to Larry Johnson, Las Vegas is home not only to the Happiest Place on Earth (the Double Down Saloon), but also to "Mr. Happiness" himself, Johnson's alter-ego. Back in 2002, after retiring from a 20-year career in the military, this husband, father, and grandfather upped stakes from California and moved his family to Las Vegas. Somewhere along the way, he took it upon himself to become the purveyor of happiness and enemy of all frowns and has been fulfilling that role ever since. His impromptu act, which we've seen perfectly encapsulated by the phrase "jubilant lunacy," involves an array of outlandish costumes, facial gestures, air guitar, high kicks, claps, and dog barks.
Family commitments permitting, he performs three "shifts" a day from morning till evening, spreading his own special brand of joy to motorists and pedestrians, although the uninitiated have a tendency to be more perturbed than uplifted by his in-your-face antics. Accolades to date include dancing with Mayor Goodman and appearing in infomercials for a local car dealership. While researching this piece, we came across an article about two indie filmmakers who were attempting to make a documentary about Mr. Happiness, but that's the last we heard of that.
If you want to catch Mr. Happiness in the flesh, just loiter around the intersection of Sahara and Fort Apache for a while and he's sure to show up sooner or later. If not, you can check him out on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jLco65I67E
