Wednesday January 14th

The comic:


...when he gets off a bus?

I knew they'd do this! After saying "out of shape" Pluggers, there'd either be yet another qualifier or an assumption that all Pluggers are men, or out of shape, or old, or grandparents, or married, or financially struggling. You get it.

I know it probably had more to do with the sender's gender, and I always like when they keep that the same, but I was just reading about the effects of gendered language on our thinking - especially when we're younger and we want to be a policeman or fireman or we flip through those 5th grade "sex ed" pamphlets that talk about "his cramps." Okay, so you can't turn every Pluggers into a soapbox issue. But damn, this one is more boring than usual. (Shakesville for the post, housewife2k for the sex ed anecdote.)

Also, off the bus? No wonder it's a classic! I rode a bus once and while it was for school, it was for university, so it wasn't yellow. And there were TVs. Anyways, we all had to put our luggage in the luggage compartment. I have a black Joe Boxer duffel that still doesn't require duct tape, and I don't know how old it is, but it wasn't bought for the late July '07 trip. It was easy to find, though not as easy to find as the trunk. ("Who brought their grandma's trunk to frosh camp?" boomed the counselor.)

Now, at the airport, there's a bigger issue because your luggage doesn't stay still. If you miss it the first time, you have to wait. Now, my airplane luggage is a bit more typical, but we tied a flourescent orange string around the handle and there have been no problems with locating it. However, since a wheel broke off the biggest one, not making that much easier to find it, though harder to maneuver.

My sister has brand new luggage and will never have problems finding it - it's got pink and white zebra stripes. Too bad she won't be flying to school this fall.