Coincidence

When Ronny comes over, he's usually fairly tired, so we don't do anything grand. Often just watch TV for a little while. Friday nights, the choices on TV are quite pathetic, and on a few occasions we ended up watching the Dog Whisperer. It's this kind of hispanic guy (Cesar Millan) who helps people bring their dogs under control. The shows all have the same feel, in that it takes like 3 minutes for the dog to calm down, and the next two days to train the owners how to handle the dog properly. Ronny and I have commented in the past that his sister should use some of those techniques to keep better control of her 4 year old son. (The son is getting out of control because she is too inconsistent and can't bring herself to actually enforce any discipline.)
So, last week, South Park apparently took our idea and made a show out of it. After burning through a couple nanny reality shows, Mrs. Cartman brings in the dog whisperer to help Eric. It is a funny episode, made even funnier if you've ever seen the original show. And when it parallels thoughts you've already discussed about crossing the show with problem children, it is hysterical!!
But the best coincidence of all happened this Saturday. Ronny just LOVES the chinese buffet down on Park. So, we've been going there WAY too often lately. Ronny also wears clothes from the boy's department. (As did Sergio...) Men's department smalls are still too large for him, so he gets some shirts from the boy's department. Some of them are passable, but some just really look like boys' clothes. This Saturday, we were heading once again to the Super China Buffet (in my mind it always sounds like "Sooooooooopah China Buffet" in a kung-fu flick accent). As we got out of the car, it just really struck me how boyish the shirt looked, so I commented on it to him. He's like, "No, you can't tell." I told him you could. The little cutesy rhino emblem embroidered on the chest was part of the give-away. We walk into the restaurant, and the lady seats us at a table. In the table right next to ours is a family with an 8 or 9 year old son wearing the Exact Same Shirt. I laughed. And then laughed a little more. Ronny thought it was funny, too, though not as much as I did. I told him it was even funnier because we had Just talked about it like 20 seconds earlier.
The interesting part comes in when you analyze the reaction shot. Ronny seemed to shrug it off, didn't care. I would have been beyond embarrassed; I probably would have wanted to turn right around and leave. In retrospect, I can agree that it is embarrassing, but my response would have been over-reacting. And when did I get that image-conscious, anyway?? The only reason to leave would be worrying about what the other diners were thinking. Under normal conditions these are people I would mock as sartorial errors to begin with, and disdainfully comment on the Wal-Mart-ishness of the clientelle. But that sure makes me sound like a snob, now doesn't it! As Stan and Kyle would say: "I think we learned something today. Having more Calvin Klein, Polo, and DKNY in your closet doesn't make you a better person." But I think Versace does...