Smile if You Hate Bush*

For a few reasons, it's been a long time since I last wore my violet t-shirt that has a child-like drawing of a girl frowning and next to her, in a first grader's handwriting - complete with backwards "a" - says "Bush is a tush." Mostly I hadn't worn it because I gained some weight and was afraid to even put it on because I didn't want to find out that it didn't fit. Since I recently decided that I should be less concerned with whether I look "fat" or not, I broke the t-shirt out yesterday and went on my merry way to Brooklyn. (For the record, it fit fine anyway.)

I don't remember the last time I wore the shirt in NYC, but I'm fairly sure that I had limited reaction to it. (Unlike when I wore it in Ocean City, NJ, two summer ago and a man in a coffee shop blew up at me. "You should consider yourself lucky to have Bush as your president," he spewed in my face as I stared at him like he clearly just got here for Uranus, which is obviously explained his stupid asshole behavior. It's amazing how many people I run into from that testy planet.) My sartorial choice yesterday, though, demonstrated how much times have changed.

As I walked around, I noticed an unusual number of people smiling at me. At first I thought they were mocking me for wearing a Mets hat when the Mets are imploding, but then I realized it was appreciation for the shirt. (Or maybe my boobs, but I'm pretty sure it was the shirt's message.) I stopped into the legendary Peter Luger's steakhouse for lunch (the $8.95 1/2 pound burger is amazing), and several waiters came up to me to say things like, "Great shirt!"

An even more interesting sign of the times might be the reaction I got when I wore my "My Bush could do a better job" tank top to Ocean City this August. Not one person said anything nasty to me, and I got a big "Love your shirt!" from a college-age guy I passed on the street. So either anti-Bush sentiment is spreading, pro-bush love is abounding, fewer people from Uranus are polluting Earth, or some combination of all of the above. It's excellent progress.