In the 1970's it was still rare for a grown man to go to work in a lace cravat and petticoat breeches, especially if that man, like Ray-Ray, worked as a garbage collector for the City of Newark, NJ. Ray-Ray was a bundle of contradictions: sensitive but hard-edged; coquettish yet vengeful; fastidious but filthy. A compassionate civil rights activist, he was also a bodybuilder who delighted in beating up hippies. This statuette represents Ray-Ray's attempt to reconcile two sides of his personality. The cocked fist is a symbol of the fight-ready posture he adopted so many times at pool halls, punk-rock concerts, and fondue orgies in the 70s, while the white dove atop his hand represents his message of peace. As Ray would say, "It's up to you, friend. Give peace a chance … or taste the Five Knucklemen of Von Blauheimer!"
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