Alan Pasternak has a website where he sells his bubble-wand and has bubble related info:
VISIT HIS SITE BY CLICKING HERE.
ACCOUNTANT TRADES TAX TROUBLES FOR SOAP BUBBLES
August 12, 2001
For 40 years Alan Pasternak made a living by bursting people's bubbles. But now, the former Internal Revenue Service accountant has found bubbles can cheer people up.
Pasternak, known by many as the ``Bubble Man,'' has been going to local parks and restaurants to blow bubbles. He brings a bucket filled with soap and water and 24-inch-long pipes with hanging cloth strips that he makes and calls ``magic bubble wands.''
Like a magician doing a trick, he waves a stick gently up and down, sending enormous bubbles floating through the air.
He demonstrates for enjoyment but sells wands for $6.
``I enjoy making the wands and primarily enjoy teaching a small child how to blow bubbles,'' he said.
Pasternak, 64, has learned children are fascinated by bubbles. They've come out of restaurants in tears and stopped crying when they see them, he said.
For Pasternak, bubbles are more about the smiles than the dollars.
``It's really not a way to make money; it's relaxation. I find it's almost like a disease. When I go on vacation, I can't wait to come back and blow bubbles.''
It was during a vacation that Pasternak first fell in love with the soap suds.
On a visit to South Carolina four years ago, he and his wife discovered a wand vendor.
The couple bought a bunch of sticks for their grandchildren. When they returned home, Pasternak went to Home Depot for pipes and fabric and and started making his own.
``I said `My goodness, I could become a millionaire blowing bubbles,' '' he said.
Sill with the IRS, he began frequenting art shows at local parks. But lousy weather at one show gave him a wake up call. ``I realized I wasn't going to be a millionaire blowing bubbles.''
But that didn't stop him from selling them altogether.
``He loves blowing those bubbles and doesn't care whether people buy them or not,'' Linda Pasternak said.
Married to Bubble Man for 38 years, Pasternak said never in a thousand years would she guess her husband would become addicted to bubbles.
Supplies are scattered all over their Miller Heights home.
``We have two horrible-looking cabinets in the living room that I can't get rid of because he has bubble supplies in them.''
He keeps wands in his car trunk too and keeps the soap bucket on the front seat, she said.
Blowing bubbles has not only kept him busy after retirement, but also has distracted him from his 91-year-old mother's weakening health.
He blows bubbles before visiting her, he said.
In addition to blowing bubbles, Pasternak occupies his days by playing tennis and helping the government conduct census studies.
For the most part, the 64-year-old is received positively by those he approaches about blowing bubbles and selling wands.
``He's always welcome,'' Hops Restaurant Managing Partner Paul Wilson said. ``He keeps the kids preoccupied when their parents are waiting for a table.''
Kendall resident Mary Wittmeyer said she saw Bubble Man outside a Pancake House near Southwest 117th Avenue and Sunset Drive.
She bought six for her nieces and nephews.
``I think it's a great item. It's great there are toys out there for young kids which have them use their minds and bodies instead of just a computer.''
Wittmeyer said the wands require dexterity and seem to be more for 12-year-olds than toddlers.
However, she will test them out on her 18-month-old and younger relatives.
Bubbles and bubble wands aren't always happily received, Pasternak said.
A few park managers from Miami-Dade County Parks and one in the Village of Pinecrest have asked him to leave.
``I've never met Bubble Man,'' said Pinecrest Parks & Recreation Superintendent Loren Matthews. ``But what he does would be like peddling and vending, and we don't allow that on park property.''
Yet, Bubble Man never has gotten into trouble and is quick to comply with those who tell him to go away, he said.
When a kid asks him how to blow a bubble, it makes it all worthwhile, he said.
``Ninety-five percent of people are wonderful,'' he said.
`Bubble Man' Alan Pasternak creates soap bubbles with a 24-inch wand at Dante Fascell Park. The retired IRS accountant, who entertains children at parks and restaurants with his bubbles, sells the wands for $6. But, he says, `It's really not a way to make money; it's relaxation.'