Freedom of Choice

Every single person in this valley in western montana is driving a huge , white pickup. A few started showing up last year, monstrous things with crew cabs and duelies with hyper- masculine names from the alaskan wilderness, you know, Yukon and Tundra and crap like that. And they just caught on like wildfire, it is now THE status symbol of choice and despite the fact many of these knucleheads have to take out second mortgages just to fill the tank they are totally de rigeur. I should mention there is also lots of new money here and four dollar a gallon gas for them means theyll only be able to travel in Tuscany for a month this year, but my real point is just how funny it is in our consumer culture that every good patriotic republican here is willing to lay down his life for the right to express his own ,unique individuality and what do they do, by God they buy the exact same truck, live in the exact same suburban ranchstyle house, where the same damn clothes etc.. But dread the commernist nightmare of having to do things collectively, of having to share, of having to look the same.... This rant is dedicated to Steel Magnolia and Andy Rooney.

PS Bravo to the pilot of that Jet Blue who landed that plane so sublimely. Good news is sweet.