Basket Case

I spent a good portion of Sunday at the Folklife Festival on the Mall. Here are my random thoughts:

1. America is awesome. I noticed a big line that led to a tent labeled “Marketplace.” Yes, Americans are so hopelessly consumerist that they will stand in line for 20 minutes in the baking hot midday sun…to shop. The line was far longer than those for food and drink, so we value shopping over sustenance. God bless America.

2. Congratulations, you reproduced! No, that does not excuse you from basic manners. (I know probably someday I’ll have some rugrats, and I’ll look back at this blog entry and cringe. So be it.) I don’t really get the solipsism of young parenthood. Yeah, you’ve got toddler quadruplets, a ginormous all-terrain stroller, and an amazing assortment of overpriced totebags. I will never understand why that entitles you to grind to a halt at the top of escalators, in the middle of walkways, or, best of all, directly in front of an entrance. Get out of the way, then adjust Barrett’s Ralph Lauren sweater or give little Mackenzie’s face a scrubdown. There are 6 billion other people on this Earth, and most of us don’t really care about you or your little brats/sociological experiments/excuse for living. So please stop acting like you're the only people on Earth.

3. I stood in line to look at a basket, a box of tea, and a lady making jam. God help me.

4. Culture is funny. I especially liked that one of the Folklife featured locations was exotic Virginia. We learned all about boats, churches, slaves, plants, and roads. However, no one discussed Virginia’s more recent cultural contributions, like chain restaurants, gay-bashing and Lorena Bobbitt.