fads

A really old person would recognize a pattern and even a person with more than a few decades under their belt would note some repetition.

Here are a handful of current fads I've noticed lately:

1. tattoos. A few small strategically placed. A lot more that appear life-altering, body-engulfing. Middle-aged women, 30-ish men, 20-ish women with small children. No age bracket or social status is exempt, apparently.

2. Africa. If your church or civic organization is hip, they are involved with helping Africa. It's an easy continent to draw on your pamphlets as opposed to like one small country like Cambodia or Kyrgyzstan.

3. earthiness. This encompasses so-called "being green" and the organic movement. If you wash and sort your trash into 10 or 15 containers, have thought about buying a two-seater car, and buy specially marked "eco-friendly" water bottles, shoes, tuna and curly light bulbs, you fit in. Please note, however, that it's mostly about buying certain specially marked products and doing specially noted "eco-friendly" activities that will help you fit in and help the cause.

4. non-conventional churches. How you rate on the hipness scale is directly related to where you meet and what you sit on while you are there and what you drink.

5. coffee. It's been the drink of choice for scores of years at small town church functions, auction sales, cafes and afternoon lunch on the farm, but more recently the hip city dwellers have caught on. They just traded in the 6 ounce Styrofoam cup for a 12, 16 or 20 ounce disposables and cream and sugar for skinny and soy lattes.

There's my list. What did I miss?