There are times I read Peggy Noonan’s columns and can barely believe she once worked for Ronald Reagan. It’s as if she’s been living in a bubble for far too long. She’s not the only one. I think the entire political class has been in that bubble with her.
Ms. Noonan’s column in Saturday morning’s Wall Street Journal was a bit depressing when I read it.
More predictions. The cities and suburbs of America are about to get
rougher-looking. This will not be all bad. There will be a certain authenticity
chic. Storefronts, pristine buildings—all will spend less on upkeep, and gleam
less.
So will humans. People will be allowed to grow old again. There will be a
certain liberation in this. There will be fewer facelifts and browlifts, less
Botox, less dyed hair among both men and women. They will look more like people
used to look, before perfection came in. Middle-aged bodies will be thicker and
softer, with more maternal and paternal give. There will be fewer gyms and fewer
trainers, but more walking. Gym machines produced the pumped and cut look. They
won’t be so affordable now.
I forgot about the column while I went about my day. We took the kids to a Syracuse Chiefs baseball game. We sat next to the man my son nicknamed “Robbie the Trash Talker.” My husband, his friends and my son started with the cat calls. It was such fun!
We talked to a guy who served in Afghanistan. He heard me say I was going to use my birthday money to buy a blackberry. He showed me his blackberry and somehow I found out it cost his girlfriend $600 to call him on Christmas Eve while he was in Afghanistan. If I had $600 in my pocket I probably would have given it to them. Regardless, we had some laughs and I was thrilled to be sitting with someone who served our country.
We always have a blast at the Chiefs games. The stadium is easy to get to and never too crowded. I prefer it over the big ball parks in New York City and Philadelphia. Other than paying $4 for a Diet Coke there were no complaints. Even our four year old, who normally has plenty of complaints, was all smiles all afternoon.
Which brings me back to Peggy Noonan. My family is a middle class family. Years ago we decided to stop vacationing if it meant incurring more debt. If we wanted to really stretch our budget we could probably afford a larger house, fancier cars and nicer clothes. But those things really don’t mean that much to us.
An afternoon watching a farm team play baseball is good enough for us. Always has been and always will be.
Welcome to America, Ms. Noonan.
(By the way - the Chiefs won!)
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