Optimism

Some currently-airing ad uses the tune from "Somewhere," one of the great songs from the fabulous Broadway musical and roadshow motion picture West Side Story.

"That's a beautiful song," Christine said when it aired earlier.

"Yeah, but it's kind of sad," I said. "Maria and Tony didn't really arrive at a time or place for themselves, unless it was in the after life."

"It's still a beautiful song," Christine said.

I conceded that point. It is a beautiful song, all about optimism and putting differences aside, although the argument could be made that it's not a particularly good argument in favor of optimism. For all the "look on the sunny side" spirt, things don't turn out that well in the end, destined as Tony and Maria are to repeat Romeo and Juliett's history.

I'm more an optimist than I sometimes like to admit, though always with a touch of cynicism. Sure you get a bigger soda than you used to at fast food establishments now, but the down side, as Morgan Spurlock might note, is you get a bigger soda at fast food establishments now.

I guess I'll give Christine Somewhere and I'll hum Always Look on the Bright Side from Monty Python's Life of Bryan.