I Didn't Laugh, Necessarily, But I Did Think About Why I Almost Did - Some Things Catch My Attention

How does Crandall spend the last day of his vacation? Somehow he gets coerced into going to a mall. Yes, a mall. The very location on this planet that he detests most (due to his years of working in one while putting himself through college).

The perfume smell. The expensive everything. The crowds. The teenagers trying to be cooler than they actually are.

But then we noticed a woman coming out of Victoria's Secrets with multiple bags, fully addressed in a total Burka. I caught it in the corner of my eye before asking, "Hey, did you see the woman leaving the store just now?"

I then said, "I'm not sure why this catches my attention, but part of me has a slight smile on my face. Yes, while in the mall."

Sure enough, post-holiday sales hosted a wide-variety of dollar-saving individuals and this woman's bags caught my attention. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to call it irony, because I recognize the traditions (both Burka and lingerie) are cultural phenomenon that are historically and socially situated.

I believe it was the very fact that I never thought about what is under all that clothing (probably because it is extremely successful at hindering the imagination). Then I just laughed at my over-thinking, analytical mind as it tried to narrate meaning from the physical meme that presented itself.
I suppose my reaction is parallel to that of any pre-pubescent boy who sees any woman coming out of such a store (ha ha. Underwear. Bras. Panties. ha ha).

Then I remembered Jacob's comment last year at Burlington Coat factory. He was looking at bras and he said, "Whenever I see them I want to play the banjo." I asked, "Banjo?" He said in his four year old voice, "Yes," and pantomimed playing the drums. I then asked, "Do you mean Congas?" in which he replied, "Yes, those."

And with that, I welcome back-to-work Monday to all of us educators returning to our routines.