No, of course my drive in the car is never as interesting
or entertaining as my morning bus rides once were. The similarities are that I still rapid fire
questions at Lily about every single thing she did during her day (I LOVE to
hear everything that happened to her at daycare)- and that JD still sleeps
through the whole thing. The differences
of course are that there are no crazy strangers to worry about and I didn’t
have to push and shove to get a seat in my car.
So anyway, now that we’re driving around the suburbs in a car, there are
a few things I’ve noticed and that I’m curious about, so I’ll start with
something I’ve seen every morning when driving my kids to daycare. (Up until
earlier this week, that is, since tax day has come and gone) And that is the
living advertisements for a local tax preparer.
I could kick myself for NOT getting a picture of this, or better yet, a
quick video with my phone. This place is
paying kids to stand at several different intersections (and that’s just what I see on my ride…there
are probably lots more than just what I see) holding signs that say “honk if you
love liberty” and they are all dressed like the Statue of Liberty. We’ve also seen the occasional Uncle Sam, but
mostly it’s Lady Liberty. They are all young men in their late teens/early 20’s, they
all wear headphones and dance around like crazy to music only they can hear, and
they all hold signs saying “honk if love liberty” and try REALLY hard to get
you to honk your horn at them as you drive by.
Which is fine….. I mean, they are
more than just a little distracting which is obviously the point, though maybe
having them at busy intersections might not be the safest idea, but since
someone is paying them to draw attention to themselves, I guess dancing around
on a quiet dead end street would make little to no sense. (and how weird would
that be for the person who lives on that dead end) But anyway…here’s what I’m wondering. WHO is the person that would decide to take
their taxes there because a kid dancing around in a green dress and foam crown got
them to honk their car horn that morning?
I get that its drawing attention to the place, but other than the
campiness of it…is it really adding to their business? It definitely serves as a good public service
reminder of the fact that it’s time to get your taxes done – but, I’m wondering
if the place that actually has these kids on their payroll is truly getting any
business from this? Have sales
increased? Does The Statue of Liberty
bring in more business than Uncle Sam, or was her costume just cheaper? Does Patriotic drag drum up more business?
Okay, yes – it’s harmless, but one small gripe I do
have is the kid that holds his sign up, trying SO hard to get me to honk to
show I love liberty is also blocking my view of upcoming cars in the process. Here’s the thing…now that I’m back in NJ I’m
really enjoying the option to turn right on red (which does not exist in New York
City, so it’s a real treat…..see, pork roll was not the only thing I missed
while being away from my home-state) – So, this clown holds his sign up and in
the way, so it makes it harder for me to see if there are cars coming. Also, how do I know if anyone is honking at
me, or just trying to show off how much they love liberty? And when I honk at the kid to tell him to
move, he just takes it as a sign of my liberty-loving appreciation for his
routine, and it makes him dance that much more, raising his sign up that much
higher. By then, the light has turned
green and I’m going because green means go…not because I’m back in a place
where I can turn right on red! (sigh)
At the end of the day I had no intention
of taking my taxes to this place, but obviously their marketing caught my
attention and gave me some things to think about, for example: I wonder if a
lot of kids show up to apply for this job, and if there are some that are
actually turned away. What’s the job
interview like for such an assignment? Do they have to audition? I wonder if there are specific dance moves
that are taught to them, or if they are allowed to just freestyle? I’m new to this town, is this some fun kitchy
thing that the locals look forward to every April? Are there kids who have been watching the
dancing lady liberties their whole life, just waiting for the chance to apply
for the job? I have to say that they all
do look pretty happy to be there, particularly one kid that we saw every
morning and watched him change over time from a paste-y shade of white to a
fairly decent tan (at least where his crown and gown don’t cover)
Alas….give me your tired, your poor, your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free….and honk if you love liberty.
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