There Is No Plan

When American kids thinks of trains…

…do they think of this?

Engine 382, where Casey Jones had his Finest Hour. It lives in Tennessee.

….or this?

Thomas, based on an English Suburban Locomotive

I’m afraid it’s the latter.

I know an awful lot about Thomas the Tank Engine. I make it my business to know in detail what my children are interested in, and my son’s choo-choo obsession is no exception. He loves Thomas, the anthropamorphic tale of railroad life on the mythical Island of Sodor. He was also very impressed when last week we visited a great railroad museum just west of downtown Los Angeles. It was there that I realized a small cultural tragedy had taken place. Read the rest of this entry »

home wrecker

It’s a startling statistic. Over 50% of people who marry before the age of 24 get divorced, as opposed to only 5% of people who get married after the age of 35.

Of course there are many reasons. Most of them have to do with maturity, like for example, people under 24 are more prone to be swayed by the lyrics of the countless sappy love songs that fill their ipods.

It stands to reason, if song after song keeps telling you “you’re the one”, “there’s nobody else like you” etc etc etc, you’re going to be disappointed when real life sets in.

Less syrupy and unrealistic love lyrics equals lower divorce rates. Perhaps it’s time for songs to carry a warning.

“The publisher, distributor and artists of [insert song title here] in no way endorse familial happiness or passion, and the lyrics of this song are not to be seen as an implicit promise of success in a given relationship. Individual listeners remain responsible for their own romantic liaisons in every respect.”