now picnic

A few days ago, I was talking about the different responses that passers-by* have when they see something silly, like, for example, someone carrying around a big, broken disco ball. The time that I've noticed this most blatantly was when I was driving Kirby's car, Bessie, so I hearby christen this response "The Bessie Reaction."

Ah, Bessie. I am proud to have been involved in her cow-i-fication, though I was skeptical at first: "Really? Like a cow, huh?" After finishing with all the spray paint and tape and cardboard, etc., I was impressed. She looked good! And since the car cost Kirby a dollar in the first place, she looked excellent! (Someone didn't understand the mystery that is the oil change and had driven her into the ground. So it goes.)

When driving Bessie about town, sometimes people will smile and give a thumbs-up, and sometimes, if they recognize Trogdor, they'll yell or giggle or sing the Trogdor theme song. They may shout something apropos, like "Burninate!" This is awesome.

At first, though, I didn't understand why people were smiling at me at stop lights. From the inside, the car looks pretty normal (aside from all the bobble-heads glued to the dashboard, of course**) and so when people would laugh and point, I started to get confused. Then I realized what was happening, and it dawned on me that I was inside an Attention Magnet. Pay attention to me! Yay! I'll admit, it was kind of fun.

So, the good reactions make lots of sense to me. Sometimes, though, the Bessie Reaction kicks in - especially when stopped at a light. People glance over at the car for a moment, and get embarrassed (for me?) and quickly look away. Or, they'll stare until I catch them staring, and then they won't make eye contact with me. This is the funny part -- clearly, I know that the car I'm in looks like a cow. It's not an unfortunate birth mark that I was cursed with. Clearly, I took some action that led me to be in the driver's seat of such a vehicle. Maybe their embarrassed reaction says more about themselves than it says about me. But probably not.

Also, Happy Third Birthday, Trogdor! (If you don't know Trogdor, it's about time that you did. Seriously, you are three years late!)

*(***) This entry may or may not be an elaborate scheme to use the word "passers-by."

** Wow. The bobble-heads. They each bobble slightly differently (side-to-side, back-and-forth) and they bobble with different resonances, so if the car's going 55 mph, some bobble-heads really like that, but at 62 mph, different ones go faster -- watching them go from 0-70 mph is almost exactly like watching a symphony orchestra, but not quite.

*** Yeah, I end-noted an end-note. How do you like that? I just thought I should cite Mimi Smartypants for this end-noting business. She does it all the time, and I just thought I should come right out and say that I'm stealing it from her. There. The end.

Bessie and Kirby, the proud papa. Or ... lover?!