Why Social Media Makes Me Want To Churn Butter In The Woods

I am becoming more and more low tech as I get older. In about two years you will find me churning butter in a cabin in the woods. Feel free to join me because, butter.

********************

It was the annual Fall Fair in our community. The boys and I have been going for ten years and this small fair is anticipated with as much excitement as Christmas morning.

This year the organizers had chartered a transit bus so parents and kids could go on free rides around the neighbourhood. While my younger son wanted to go off with his friends and hang out, my older son and I decided to take a bus ride together.

We chatted as we looked out the window, talking about everyday things, but mostly trains because right now he's really into trains.

Then we saw The Penguin Guy. We see The Penguin Guy about two or three times a week and The Penguin Guy deserves to be bolded, because this poor guy stands on a busy street corner, no matter what the weather, waving a sign advertising a dozen roses for $24.99. Only for some reason we’ve never been able to figure out, he wears a large penguin head while he’s doing it.

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when the conversation about costume choice was going on.

What says, “Buy roses for your loved one?”
"Penguin. But not the full body, just the head."

This is right up there with trying to figure out who decided to market Porchetta as a lean meat. It doesn't matter how you label it, Porchetta will never seem like a skinny choice.

As we drove past, my son noticed that on this particular day The Penguin Guy was wearing a t-shirt that said "WTF" and pointed it out to me.

“That’s probably what he’s thinking every time he has to put on his penguin head,” I said.

We both burst out laughing.

Then I said how I wished I had a camera so I could take a picture of it, and in words wise beyond his years, my son responded, “Just take a picture with your mind, mom.”

So I did. And that picture has stayed in my head along with all the emotions attached to it. I’m actually smiling as I type this.

I watched this video today and, well, it says everything I feel lately about our lives on the internet. You'll want to take three minutes to watch it. I promise it will be well worth your while.

We don't need to document everything, and hugs are always better than likes. And we can all do better than having an attention span that is less than a goldfish.