cymbaljack

Well, I'm certainly glad the big scare is over. I was very worried.

The scare in question was that it appeared, for a time, that Americans might actually be thinking that happiness and significance could be found somewhere other than material possessions. I know: it's scary thinking, definitely heresy or treason or something. But the evidence was unmistakable. Even MasterCard, yes MasterCard, was running ads acknowledging that what people really wanted was things that were "priceless."

Now fortunely for American culture, the good people in marketing managed to make a series of ads that clearly implied that all of these "priceless" things like love, connection to family, pride, etc., actually could be purchased, indirectly, with a MasterCard. It's nice how that worked out. Still, it appeared that America was moving away from the view that all we want or should want is a big pile of material things.

The good news is, the new ebay ads make it clear that the threat has been headed off. Now we know that whatever "it" is, you can find "it" on ebay.

So as soon as I'm done here, I'll surf over there and order up some self-confidence, a side of unconditional love, and maybe a little joy and peace to get me through the holidays!

Unrelated side notes:

• To the person in the giant Lexus SUV that briefly parked next to me at the post office: despite all the harm they will do to you in your lifetime, neither excessive wealth nor impatience count as a "handicap."
• I said all along that the Bears were the only team to be worried about in the NFC North. Everybody believe me now?
• I wonder what we're getting into when Disney does Narnia. Do they make it less sexist? Less explicitly Christian? More "action-packed"? More "Disney"?
• I've almost survived a first semester back. Two or three weeks ago I started to feel almost normal again--like, at least briefly, I was caught up.