Avoiding the spotlight
Some do it out of habit, while others zoom right in on the center of attention. I’ve never been able to figure out why some people crave attention so much. I suppose that for some, it’s an assertion of their individuality. Look at me. I’m different.
Vanity license plates on cars bug me. Sitting in a fast-food drive through on Friday, I was behind “Kanky”— maybe it’s some kind of Arkansas thing. Or, it could be that kinky was taken. As I got out on the road and headed toward the university, I came face to face with “JDUBBYA”— as a “JW” this one really bugged me. Any connection with the snot in the Whitehouse wouldn’t find itself plastered on the back of my car. Ohio plates on that one though, it seems that bad taste crosses state lines. But it does often command the spotlight.
Leaving school, there was a traffic snarl. I had to turn the other way. I found myself in a forest called Boyle Park, with no sign of city nearby, three blocks from the mess. I hadn’t traveled that road before, and there was little sign of human presence save the ancient steel bridges across the crisscrossing of hundreds of small streams. It dawned on me that in nature, some things are colored and arrayed to attract attention, and some things are camouflaged. Usually, this is tied to reproductive behavior.
Maybe that’s it. Look at me. I’m lovable. I put silly things on my car for you.
