Gus, The Beef Jerky King

So I had to make a road trip last week and on the way back home I took some back roads at a leisurely pace. As I was driving down a lonesome highway in the middle of nowhere I saw a scratchy old billboard advertising “Gus’s Really Good Fresh Beef Jerky 90 Miles.” Below that line, in smaller lettering, were the words “Beef Jerky, Honey, Olives, Restrooms.”

I have expressed my deep affection for such signs in a previous post long ago so I won’t repeat myself here. But I will tell you that for the next 15 minutes as I barreled along with the stereo blaring (Elliott Smith, Pointer Sisters, Steely Dan) I pondered the following:

1.    90 miles seems a long distance from one’s business to post a billboard
2.    Isn’t it contradictory of Gus to advertise his beef jerky as “fresh” since, after all, beef jerky is aged and dried and then vacuum-sealed?
3.    Are people allowed to erect and paint their own billboards, since it sure looked as if that’s exactly what Gus did?

By the time I had mentally gnawed on (not unlike eating beef jerky) these weighty questions, I had passed another of Gus’ billboards reminding me that his really good beef jerky was only 60 miles away. Not long after that was another billboard paid for by Gus letting me know that beef jerky, honey, olives and restrooms were only 30 miles away.

Two more signs and 20 minutes later, I understood that I was witnessing the work of a marketing trailblazer. In this era of online, interactive, viral, contextual and guerilla marketing, not to mention $200 million TV advertising campaigns, Gus had, with his six crappy billboards in the middle of nowhere, totally and completely convinced me that not stopping at his beef jerky shack was something I would regret until the day I died. And I don’t even eat beef jerky.

But stop I did, in a cloud of roadside dust, exactly 500 yards after I saw the final billboard proclaiming “Gus’s Really Good Fresh Beef Jerky 500 Yards.”

However modest you might imagine Gus’s Really Good Fresh Beef Jerky establishment to be, it was far more modest than that. It was a tiny cement building that appeared to be a converted gas station with bumper stickers all over the front door and, as promised for the past 90 miles, walls lined with dozens and dozens of packages of beef jerky and cheap wooden racks of olives, honey and dried fruit. There were also restrooms and, as an unadvertised bonus, you could feed Gus’ three immensely crabby chickens for 25 cents if you so chose.

The place was pretty crowded, and I jostled among my fellow travelers trying to choose between hot jerky, teriyaki jerky, elk jerky or sweet and sour jerky. I finally decided to go old school with my beef jerky selection and buy the original “cowboy” flavor.  It cost 8 bucks (three packages for $20), which seemed kind of expensive, but then again I’m no beef jerky expert and besides, I was still under the Gus’ magic marketing spell. I HAD to buy it.

I took a picture of Gus’ beef jerky empire, saluted his evil genius and drove off. About 30 minutes later, I passed a big, modern-looking store with a fancy sign advertising “the world’s best beef jerky.” Poor bastards, I thought, as I sped past. I already had my beef jerky, as did everyone else around these parts, courtesy of Gus. Why would we ever stop at this place?

I actually have a piece of Gus’ jerky sitting next to me on a plate as I write this. I tap out a paragraph, then chew, chew, chew for 10 minutes or so before going back to writing. As eating endeavors go, it’s time-consuming and a bit tiring, but it IS really good beef jerky.

Comments

[school_dubl]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, a cool site I like

[JOBS_frend]

The new year is already knocking at the door, let it will bring only happiness and joy.

[Antivirus_man]

Hi, I congratulate you on Merry Christmas!

[RX-order]

buy cialis buy cialis at a discount buy cialis brand buy cialis by the pill buy cialis canada buy cialis cheap buy cialis cheaper online buy cialis mexico buy cialis omline buy cialis online 20mg buy cialis online site buy cialis online viagra buy cialis pharmacy buy cialis pills generic

[Hot_cialis]

buy cialis buy cialis at a discount buy cialis brand buy cialis by the pill buy cialis canada buy cialis cheap buy cialis cheaper online buy cialis mexico buy cialis omline buy cialis online 20mg buy cialis online site buy cialis online viagra buy cialis pharmacy buy cialis pills generic

[Music_master]

Are you eager to secure funds for that dream project of yours?

[Buy_Viagra]

Are you eager to secure funds for that dream project of yours?

[Nadia Ghazzawieh]

Just yesterday...I too spotted the "Fresh Jerky" sign on my way home from Laughlin, NV. Okay, not one sign but 3 signs. Perseverance is Key. I'm a jerky fan and almost purchased a bag from the local convenience store while getting gas. Still having jerky on my mind I stopped at Gus'. This is my first time out to Laughlin and who knows when I'll be up this way. A very nice selection of specialty items. Lots of olive varieties, never knew olives can be stuffed with so many items! I purchased 2 bags of the beef jerky. I was looking forward to Elk and Buffalo, there were only beef to choose from. I purchased the Sweet and Spicy and Teriyaki. Both were deliciously tender. Slightly salty, sweet. I prefer the spicy and sweet over teriyaki. That little kick of spicy balanced out the sweet. YUUMMYYY!!!! I need more. Dried Mango is delicious. Not too sweet. It was Perfect.

[RamonGustav]

Have you been turned down by other lenders?

[viagra online]

That takes some work. There's really no need for a bib when you're munching on blue crabs in Baltimore, but I see why you need one for these.

[nakedcelebs]

http://milf-pussy.50milfs.com/
Many have tried and failed to stimulate isomeric isotopes into emitting high energy photons enough to serve as a gain medium and produce a coherent gamma ray beam that might serve as a laser for purposes civil and military. Princeton's Richard Wheeler surfaced the idea of matter-antimatter annihilation in positronium serving this purpose decades ago, but only now have electron-positron molecules been observed to condense into quantum states of technological use in applications as diverse as space propulsion and medicine.
Spin exchange quenching of molecular species containing antimatter may lead to stable Bose-Einstein condensates of materials like Dipositronium, making possible stored energy densities vastly higher than today's, and coherent emission at wavelengths short enough to image -- and 'optically' pump-- nuclear quantum states, yielding advances comparable to those stemming from the discovery of x-rays or nuclear magnetic resonance
http://www-hairypussy.com/
http://nakedcelebscity.com/

[Frank's Beef Jerky Recipe]

Always on the lookout for a great jerky recipe.

[Round and Brown]

I ran across a wonderful subject for a food article yesterday. We had dinner at a seafood place near us called the Bluewater Grill. On the wine list, there was a selection alled "Fat Bastard". Marilyn found this so amusing she had to try it, despite having

[generic cialis]

Would it be possible to grow tea tree for the purpose of producing
manuka honey and associated teatree products in Ireland bearing in
mind that the temperatures range from -5 to 25 degrees celcius
depending on the time of year.

[cheap viagra]

I read that the term "king" has been used for the rulers of very small peoples and territories. Such a king(Sumerian lugal, Semitic melech, Celtic rix, Latin rex, Greek basileus, Sanskrit raja, Germanic kuningaz) could be a tribal leader or chief, or the tyrant of a city state.

[kamagra]

I really enjoy spicy food. But I'm also a sweet lover.

[Mike]

I stopped by Gus' via recommendation and sure enough Gus has the best jerky I've ever had. Now the problem, I ordered several packages Dec. 15, 2009 of Gus' for Christmas gifts. It is now the 21st of Jan. and still no jerky has arrived, anyone else had this problem?

[eric]

Where is the mobile link for the "Really Good Asparagas?"

[vinze]

gus ur jerky sucks

[BRUZER & BUCKETS]

MY WIFE AND I LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA, ON A ROAD TRIP A FEW YEARS BACK WE FOUND OURSELF ON HIGHWAY 395 AND SAW A SIGN THAT SAID .. .. JERKEY 15 MILES AHEAD. IT WAS GUSS FRESH JERKY IN OLANCHA CA .NOW WE HAVE ALL HAD JERKY BEFORE BUT THIS WAS LIKE A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE..THE HOT-N- SWEET JERKY WAS THE BOMB !!!!!! WE BOUGHT 6 PACKAGES AND HIT THE ROAD TO JERKY NIRVANA….

[travis]

this is the best jerky ever and the hot and sweet one is sso good it changed my life thats how good it is thanks GUS

[Mike Leland]

Gus has a website now.

http://www.freshjerky.com

[Kieran Bergin]

Hi Chris - wondering where you've gone. Not getting any response on the usual phones and e-mails. Are you OK? xoxo

Kieran

[Lafonda and Crew]

Hey.... Im just wondering..... What is Guss's telephone number? and possibly his cell phone number?

[Lafonda and Crew]

Coming back from a long day of snowboarding, we came across an old little shack covered in stickers. To our surprise they advertised really good fresh jerky. The five of us walked in with a creepy feeling, not knowing what to expect. We sampled the jerky and knew we had to have it. we ordered every flavor they had to offer. Since then, my taste buds have never tasted this level of satisfaction.

Hugs and Kisses,
Lafonda and Crew

P.S. One of my crew members has never been the same because of his experience in your funky bathroom. He hasn't talked for two days and has been crying ever since. My sugestion would be to fix your creepy bathroom and make a nice one suitable for all ages so no little kids, like my friend, would get scared.