Head scratchers

America and chicken:
My Aunt and Uncle were in the area this past weekend. They are old and retired, and like to travel. This fall they wanted to do a tour of the American Northeast. They are German with very little English skills so they decided to take an organized bus tour. In 10 days, they went from NYC-Niagara Falls-Toronto-Ottawa-Quebec City-Montreal-Boston-NYC-Amish country-Washington DC. Phew. I am exhausted just typing it.

I drove down to Washington to see them. Their bus was about to leave for Alexandria, VA for dinner and the tour guide admonished them for missing out on such a wonderful place to visit. He, also, said they should not walk around because DC is very dangerous. I was about to call him a Nazi, but realized saying that in German has a whole different context then here in the US.

We had dinner in DuPont Circle instead. I asked what they wanted to eat and my Uncle replied "Italian." I, of course, ignored his request and got called a friend for a suggestion. "Hank's Oyster Bar," she said. So that is where we went. I told them that I was taking them to an American restaurant, and they seemed very apprehensive. We ordered some fantastic seafood and split them like tapas. My Uncle seemed relieved when he saw the food and had a huge smile on his face. My Aunt and Uncle started to laugh. "We were so worried. We had a lot of American food on this trip. We did not know Americans ate seafood."

[And here is the head scratcher] Then they asked "Why do Americans like chicken so much? There is chicken on the menu of every restaurant we have visited."

I had no answer. I was completely stumped. When I went to work yesterday I asked the everyone I work with (since only one of them besides me was born in the US), if they thought there was more chicken on the menus in the US, then in their countries. Everyone except the Indians said yes. And then they demanded an explanation why chicken was so popular here. Still answerless.

Cathy:
For some reason the Cathy comic strip has been in the forefront of my mind. I find myself saying "Ack!" a lot. I see imaginary heatwaves emanating from head. Complaining about housework that needs to be done. Having my mom say passive aggressive things to me about marriage and the way I dress.

Also, I have noticed it referenced in pop culture a lot more. There is a skit on SNL with one of the male actors in a Cathy costume saying things like he wants chocolate. Or in the show "Greek" when one characters says "You look like Cathy," and the reply by the other character was "Ack!"

I googled Cathy this morning to see what she was up to.

[Head scratcher] Cathy got married? What? Now the comic strip is based on the trials and tribulations of a newlywed couple.

Maybe it really is not that confusing, but I had no idea. It put my world in a tizzy.