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Mattress Mac

I'm 95% sure about this, but I believe Mattress Mac was on Dr. Phil yesterday.

Who is Mattress Mac? Well, if you lived in Houston anytime in the '80s or '90s, you may remember seeing him in his Gallery Furniture TV ads. He stood in front of a green screen and sometimes wore a mattress case (hence the nickname). His outro was always "Gallery will save you money!" and he jumped up with dollars in his hand as he enthusiastically said it.

I haven't lived in Houston for four years so I'm not sure if he's still on Gallery Furniture's ads. However, watching Dr. Phil yesterday, I think Jim "Mattress Mac" McIngvale was on TV for a different reason.

The episode's topic was on OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Jim's 18-year-old daughter suffers from OCD and she discussed her condition with Dr. Phil. Not only was she interviewed by Dr. Phil, but her parents were interviewed too. Since this problem is a serious matter, seeing whom I believed was the Mattress Mac just as "Jim" on the show was a change of pace.

For me, I could really relate to the episode's topic because I have shades of OCD. Anxiety is the root of this and I work with it on a daily basis. Anxiety doesn't control me like it used to, but it still floats in my thoughts.

In my opinion, any person that is a guest on Dr. Phil is brave. Brave because these people are willing to talk openly with millions of viewers about their personal problems. I don't think I could talk that openly about my personal problems with a large nationwide audience (blogging doesn't count). So, seeing Mattress Mac as a human just like anyone else was pretty inspiring.

I should add this: when I was in third grade, Mattress Mac came to my school for a motivational talk. I believe he told us an anti-drug message and the overall tone of his talk was vastly different from his commercial persona. In other words, I've seen Mattress Mac as Jim McIngvale before, but seeing him on Dr. Phil was an even more different change of pace.

Just a nice reminder that people in the public eye are people too.

Comments

Kev said…
So I wonder if Dr. Phil paid Mattress Mac to be on the show, or did Mac do it for free and thus SAVE! HIM! MONEY! ??

(Not trying to be too flip here on a serious post, but I just felt the urge to quote the Gallery Furniture commercials in some way.)
10:31 PM
Eric Grubbs said…
I think it GAVE! US! PIECE OF MIND!
11:15 AM
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