Shortly before the election I wrote about a kid I saw eating grass. I said the future of American surely can’t be that bright, especially since the grass was right next to where thousands of horses have surely done their business.

That incident took place .76 miles from my house in the illustrious Copper Crossing neighborhood. Today there was another sign of a dismal future, but this time it hit much closer–a mere .14 miles away.

A young boy was walking home from school as I drove by. Because he was walking, I can only surmise he attends Floris Elementary. In its heyday, Floris injected knowledge into such brilliant minds as my own and those of the students who also happened to go there. I was also a walker, which at the time I thought made me somehow special.

But I don’t want to get too off track here. The kid was toting two items on his walk home: a jacket of some sort and one of those newfangled “backpacks” that looks more like a piece of small luggage more suited for rolling down the hallways of nearby Dulles International Airport.

Now back in my day, we just carried regular backpacks during the arduous journey home. Sometimes we rocked two straps, sometimes just one, depending on what was cool at the time. But I’ll even let the kid have a pass for being lazy. However, I will not let him off for dragging the thing sideways, one step at a time, instead of using the built-in wheels.

That’s right. The kid could easily have been walking at an easy pace with the “backpack” rolling cheerily along behind him. Instead, he was struggling one step at a time, heaving the thing along on its side.

Fear for the future. Actually that reminds me of the movie “Idiocracy,” which many will tell you sucks but yet I think is beyond awesome. Yesterday I was flipping through a catalog and saw this. If you haven’t seen the movie, Brawndo is a Gatorade-like substance that Americans have been convinced is an absolute replacement for water–suitable for watering plants despite the obvious evidence that all the plants are dead. It’s got what plants need!!!

I also got two DVDs from Netflix today that both have the exact same runtime. Must be a sign of some sort.