A continually developing aspect of these columns is the degree to which they take their associations and metaphors from my own rather private experience. Numerous allusions show up throughout the columns that only my brother and sister, and perhaps a handful of childhood friends, would readily relate to. I often find myself asking myself why, if these allusions are essentially in-jokes that might only make sense to the initiated, do I continue to embed them into the flow of these columns.
The answer is because one of the most fascinating and captivating aspects of this medium is it's ability to be so highly personal yet also public at the same time. If I like that possibility, I should also make good use of it, examine its promise and its limits.
That particular association borrows from a favorite comedy recording
of the 1960's, linked to at least once before in the past, Stan Freberg
Presents the United States of America.