Vanity Plates
Driving at lunch today I pulled a stereotypical male move by checking out the girl in the car next to me. Around my age, blonde, you know the deal. Your head turns. It's instinct. So I played it cool, since all of us know how easy and effective it is to pick up girls on a busy four-lane road at 1PM. When the light turned, she sped ahead and that's when the brakes came on. Figuratively, of course. For as she slowly gained distance on me, I noticed her car had vanity plates. "MISS----" (last 4 characters left blank to protect the innocent).
At this point, I don't need any more information. She's off the list. Princess, daddy's girl, whatever you want to call it, it spells high maintenance. And that's not my style.
I look for girls that have learned lessons in life other than how to forge their parents' signatures on credit applications. I look for ones that tried to save up for a car rather than kiss ass to get one. More grounded, I guess is the term I'm looking for.
And lucky for me, I already have one.
Nowhere was this more apparent than my visits to my girlfriend's home town in Long Island, NY, where her family stands out as the most honest and down-to-Earth people within 100 miles. They're really a great bunch, but I'm not sure I can say as much for most of their neighbors. For those of you who aren't that familiar with the location, it's an incredibly upscale snotty place to live, where the rite of passage of high school graduation often involves rhinoplasty or some other inventive cosmetic surgery. Long Island is also home to many of the nouveau riche, which means 'new rich' if you're a little rusty on your German.
I'm not saying these are bad people. In fact, many of them are very genuine and nice people who grew up in less-than-desirable circumstances and developed a great deal of character because of it. Unfortunately, due to some beneficial monetary windfall, they often forget that their children haven't gained the years of wisdom and experience that should precede ownership of a showroom floor BMW.
My prime example stems from an experience I had just three weeks ago while visiting the unpoverished community of LI. On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, we had walked to the end of the block to pick up my girlfriend's 7 year-old sibling from the bus stop. I was informed that the mother of one of the students on a different bus waits each day to drive her daughter back to the house. Shocked, I watched it all unfold in horror. Mind you, this is a tiny suburban cul-de-sac (which I believe is French for "scrotum," although the bastardized English translation is now, "small, circular dead-end street"). It's a drive of roughly 200 yards. Oh yeah, and the girl is 16. I wish I were kidding.
Bringing you back to the point, that kind of pampering is a little beyond me. I believe more in a relationship that involves equality instead of servitude. I'm the type that believes that smiles should derive from each other's company, not from the three Jaguars parked in the garage. Call me old fashioned.
In college, I'm not sure a vanity plate would have bothered me much, but through the years I've begun to think differently. I cringe when I see a "princess" bumper sticker. I look away when a Lexus is blasting the Backstreet Boys. But like I said, that's just me. I'm sure someday Miss Pandered-To will find a nice CPA to settle down with, cheat on and eventually divorce with half the earnings.
Someday.
But right now she's just in training.
posted by BJC @ 4:55 PM
Your thoughts (5 so far)
5 Comments:
They worked hard for their money and suffered hardships for it but not wanting your children to go through a similar "working hard" type of life they are allowing their children to grow up spoiled and shallow...I would rather have my child suffer some hardships than to expect everything to be given to her on a silver platter...Glad to hear that you found yourself a good one though!!!
No, that's just as bad. 'Hot new alternative band' sounds like some greasy industry term.
Now, if you had said, 'talented underground alt band,' I might think differently. But those are a dying breed.
Mostly the new alt bands I've liked have come out of Britain. Two that stick out are Muse (who really aren't that new anymore) and Kasabian. If you're into more American stuff (or, from the States, as you say), try the Mars Volta.
Gotta know, Brad...MISS what? (If you can't say the word, give me a euphemism that will let me sleep tonight.)
And when I see a wealthy attorney giving their kid a new 2005 Mustang, it just enrages me. Why can't the kid just go out and steal one like his old man?
(To any attorneys who have stopped swimming in warm waters searching for distracted swimmers long enough to read this, I would apologize, but I'm afraid my head would explode.)
I think you nailed it, Michelle. Everyone wants their children to have a better life than they had. Unfortunately, too many people confuse "better" with "easier." Easy isn't better, and often isn't even very good.
*Morris Workman
www.mesquedia.com
workmanchronicles.blogspot.com
Morris,
The suffix was a nickname, not a title. (e.g. it was more like MISS SALLY than MISS BITCH)
Sorry to disappoint.
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