I was driving back home from a job site the other day, it was a day that seemed to have no end to it. I always feel the drive home is the final opportunity to let it all go before unleashing anxiety upon unsuspecting innocent bystanders. A given opportunity to thank the Goddess for another days work and for all that I am blessed with. My wife e! and my two boys, a roof over our heads, and grey matter inside our cranial cavities to make tomorrow better than today.
The job site is a stressful one, but the fellas on the project all realize this and we will be pushing through it just as steadily as possible. We are a bunch of workers from all over California looking to improve yet another school and more importantly provide for our families who we love with every fiber back home. That is what we have in common. We cant wait for this to be over so we can go home and feel the love in waves of sound from our children. My oldest has received Honor Roll in school, again. While my youngest has discovered new found friendships with the eggs that e! has hard-boiled. He names them, dances with them, then proceeds to eat them Godzilla fashion!
On my thoughtful drive back from the dessert, I noticed how the scrub brush began to give way to spotty stands of eucalyptus trees and in turn to billboards. Successfully and remorsefully removed from an extremely natural environment and placed into a far less graceful one. Straight into one that has been created and planned to cater to the needs, wants, and whims of our existence.
I began to feel a sour knot developing in my stomach, induced from all of the advertisements with an “In your face” feel to them. From a restaurant’s proclamation of a “better day ahead” to the auto shop announcing they specialize in muffler repair by going as far to say “no muff to tuff”. All the ’Buy this, Try that, We have what you need, next exit on Be Somebody Avenue’. But I really got to hand it to the Hooters billboard for sticking in my head the deepest.
Is this a “Man’s man place”, do they really dress like that and what… serve me chicken wings? The billboard came to life for a moment, quickly born was the ultra squeaky voice of a waitress that resembled more of a Barbie doll look-alike wearing the restaurant’s uniform. She spoke (mouse squeaked) the billboard banner, “Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined”. What the hell does that mean? That made no sense to me. I had to ask my now alive image of someone who may in fact dress differently on the week ends, maybe she wears those sweat pants that read “PINK”, “HOTTIE” or “JUICY” across the back of the seat of her pants when she is at the grocery store. Who knows maybe she THINKS her backside looks just that good to be able to share that information with everyone around. ”Are those real, or do you put a lot of tissue under there, is your ego over stuffed as well with the same brand of tissue, does it add weight to your IQ?” Thats what I wanted to know.
HEY, marketing teams of America when will you quit trying to pump so much shit into the minds of the young and let them discover who they are without the influence of what is thought to be “cool” or “hip” when you and I both know it’s what you can sell. There really are people out there that dont care for the coppertone babewatch or the rock and roll with the Jonas Bros look. Being yourself adds to your worth, and in realizing that draws interest, otherwise your’e just the run of the mill and boring.
Im not old, I just see through it. I know what turns me on, people being real. Not much money in that though huh?
Well I did it. I submitted my application and resume to NASA earlier this morning. It is for the research of introducing human life to the planet Mars, called the Human Exploration Life Platform, I was nervous sending it off and it took a long time to complete it. Page after page after page of seemingly redundant questions about my citizenship, and work history. The packet (book) even wanted to know about the elementary school I went to as a child and the nearest living relative other than spouse or child, I checked “C none” as “D all of the above” seemed to paint the question in a tricky sort of light, but “C” may in fact be an answer leaning towards my favor. So many questions, I’d wished I started this ap earlier, but you know, at least it wasnt the kind you fill on-line like the ones for Food Max or Pet Co. It was a real piece of paper, sent by a real person. It kind of felt good, in a weird way to see the postage stamp was applied to the envelope crooked, a real person did that. I mean this is NASA, I’m sure they have computers and robots that do that stuff for you, right? Hmm, odd.
