One For the Old Folks, And One For…Umm…The Old Folks

Errands took me town the other day.  Had a couple of hours to fill while waiting to pick up my daughter, went to my longtime coffee shop hangout to do some writing.  There’s a restaurant in the back.  Restaurant was closed, so the the tattooed youngsters doing prep work in the kitchen had some sort of caustic (that’s not a judgment, just a report) death-speed-I-dunno metal ripping from the speakers while they chopped scallions.  They are pleasant, well-employed youth and I carry no animus, but I did nonetheless put my headphones on and dialed up Pandora, which allows you to hear music based on your own tastes.  About an hour in, I took a bathroom break and passed down the back hallway by the open door of the kitchen only to catch a glimpse of the fellers snapping their heads back and forth to – of all things – “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” by the late Warren Zevon.  Did my 46-year-old heart good.

Back to my computer, and Pandora.  Listening to the ad-supported version.  And was shortly forced to confront the question, If you are listening to a virtual radio station that generates its ads based on music parameters you yerself have selected, what does it mean when you keep hearing that AARP insurance advert that starts out, “If you’re a driver 50 and over…???”