Why America?

...said the boy, after having stared at me and the car for a good 30 seconds.

Waiting in the fast lane for the lights to change, the wooly-headed ten year old looked down from on high upon me with a look of utter disgust & disdain, probably learned from his father: the owner of a brand new SUV, clean and untouched by mud, unused for either Sports or Utility, yet qualifying only as a vehicle.

And the ten year old wound down his passenger window to ask me that very valid question.

Why America?

Why is the guy, an Englishman born in Scotland, in the Swedish car built in Belgium, flying a St. George Cross AND a star-spangled banner here in the home counties of England? Why?

"Well..." I started, as I dropped my window to respond to the ten-year old's question...

"My girlfriend is American and this is her car, so I fly an English flag for me and a U.S. flag for her. Plus you always have to have a B team in the World Cup, an underdog, if you will, that you can cheer on and support besides your own team - so the U.S.A. is totally appropriate don't you think? :)"

But he already had his window up before I had a chance to reply...

Ten years old and already looking down on his elders, turning his nose up, experiencing the "status" afforded by the pointless vehicle, and not waiting for an answer... nice one, kid, you'll go far in the corporate world... unless we can make the planet a better place before you get a chance to inherit it...

It's nearly World Cup time, folks, go get a flag for your car ;)