Monday, July 08, 2013
I know who he's talking to
Pope Francis is telling nuns and priests to be more austere in their choice of automobiles.
Reminds me of something I noticed two years ago. Think I'll just reprint:
= = = = =Start reprint:
Saw a gaggle of real nuns this morning. All starched up and habited up, sharp black and white.
But the rest of the picture was wrong. They were driving a brand-new shiny gold Chrysler SUV with non-standard gold decorations. A pure Pimpmobile.
Used to be, nuns drove the cheapest and plainest 'serious' car. They drove Rambler Americans or Ford Mainlines.
Not this bunch.
They've traded up from a stripper car to a stripper's car!
= = = = =
After some thought: Can't really blame the nuns. There isn't a 'stripper' category in the auto world now. Some cars (eg Kia Rio) are especially low-priced, but they don't give off the same smell as the strippers of the '50s and '60s. When you drove a Chevy II or a Studebaker Scotsman, you were unquestionably signalling frugality.
Most were bought in quantity by businesses, churches or other organizations; their intended message was "We aren't going to waste your money on frills and chrome. You can trust us."
When bought by individuals, the message was "I don't need a status symbol." This was actually divided into two subsets of owners: (1) Cranky old misers like me, who learned through painful experience that there's no point in trying to impress anyone when you're not naturally impressive; and (2) The old rich, who genuinely didn't need any status symbols to increase their already infinite status.
In today's world of mandatory bling and flash, I don't think there's an automotive way to send a frugality signal. = = = = = End reprint. Okay, Sacred Heart penguins in the solid gold SUV. Papa Frank is talking to you! This means YOU! Hmm. Wasn't that a '50s rock song? "Well, the Sacred Heart penguins in the solid gold Ess You Vee-heeee ... And we'll have nuns, nuns, nuns till their Daddy takes the Chrysler away-haaay!" ¶ 9:06 AM
But the rest of the picture was wrong. They were driving a brand-new shiny gold Chrysler SUV with non-standard gold decorations. A pure Pimpmobile.
Used to be, nuns drove the cheapest and plainest 'serious' car. They drove Rambler Americans or Ford Mainlines.
Not this bunch.
They've traded up from a stripper car to a stripper's car!
= = = = =
After some thought: Can't really blame the nuns. There isn't a 'stripper' category in the auto world now. Some cars (eg Kia Rio) are especially low-priced, but they don't give off the same smell as the strippers of the '50s and '60s. When you drove a Chevy II or a Studebaker Scotsman, you were unquestionably signalling frugality.
Most were bought in quantity by businesses, churches or other organizations; their intended message was "We aren't going to waste your money on frills and chrome. You can trust us."
When bought by individuals, the message was "I don't need a status symbol." This was actually divided into two subsets of owners: (1) Cranky old misers like me, who learned through painful experience that there's no point in trying to impress anyone when you're not naturally impressive; and (2) The old rich, who genuinely didn't need any status symbols to increase their already infinite status.
In today's world of mandatory bling and flash, I don't think there's an automotive way to send a frugality signal. = = = = = End reprint. Okay, Sacred Heart penguins in the solid gold SUV. Papa Frank is talking to you! This means YOU! Hmm. Wasn't that a '50s rock song? "Well, the Sacred Heart penguins in the solid gold Ess You Vee-heeee ... And we'll have nuns, nuns, nuns till their Daddy takes the Chrysler away-haaay!" ¶ 9:06 AM
