Riding In Cars With Girls

Drove the Llama-ettes over to St. Marie of the Blessed Educational Method this morning. As the warm, muggy weather has firmly settled on the Dee Cee area, I had all the side panels stripped off the ol' jeep.

I love the reactions I get when I tool around our little neck of the NoVA suburbs with the gels, particularly with the top down and/or the sides off. It generally falls in three broad categories:

1. Envy, as in "Wow, wish we were doing that." This comes mostly from other dads and from all other children.

2. Anger, as in "How could you be risking your childrens' lives like that, especially with that airbag in the front passenger seat!" This comes mostly from moms as they struggle with military-style straps and harnesses in their vans and SUVs, although I've seen some men do it too.

3. Uncertainty, as in "Um...are you allowed to do that?" Often accompanied by a nervous smile. Probably the most common reaction, and equally divided among men and women.

The ones who get me the most are the fussbudgets, the type who believe that all children must be driven around hog-tied and encased in iron. The reason they get me is that I believe they're often the same types who bray the loudest about the environmental damage being caused by oversized SUVs. I suppose their answer to this conundrum is that people ought not to be having children anyway.