Bandwagon.

In its original meaning, it is kind of a happy word. Bandwagon.

By definition, it is a wagon used for carrying a band in a parade or procession.

These days, most bands walk the parade route. But I guess a century or two ago… if a farm animal could pull something, folks relied on the horse power.

At any rate, the word in that context… projects a positive image in my head. On the other hand.. the “bandwagon” we know best these days is the kind everyone jumps on.

For some reason, this variety bugs the holy heck out of me.

The folks who “jump on the bandwagon” might be better off thinking on their own… maybe… I’m just saying… they should at the very least… consider thinking on thier own.

Okay… I promise I won’t mention Sock Monkeys for a LONG time after tonight. But here’s the deal.  This is a great example of hopping on the bandwagon.

I have liked Sock Monkeys since I was a kid. I had one… old and weathered. He commingled with my other stuffed animals. I named him George. (I was hoping to get a Curious George stuffed animal… but Santa never brought one.) But I cared a great deal for that Sock Monkey instead.

Later in life, I had the opportunity to write the online “Adventures of Dewey” when I worked for the Preble County District Library System. I was the Information Technology Geek… but I wore a few different hats there. Sock Monkey Steward was one of them. How I loved that part of my job.

My attraction to the little button-eyed characters continues to the present…. as many of you know.

But these days… everybody loves the Sock Monkey. I see them on commercials, in stores, modeled as apparel (hats, and gloves, and sweaters, and such)…. big trees of them in Cracker Barrels across the country, Sock Monkey kitchen utensils, puzzles, games, notebooks… Sock Monkey Talk Show Hosts. Oh… it is viral. Or as we used to say in the olden days… “They have become quite popular.”

Other bandwagon items in recent news… Green Bay Packers;   Energy Water;  iStuff;     Housewives of Atlanta, or Beverly Hills, or where ever;  the GOP candidate of the minute;   grits (okay…. NOT grits… I just threw that in to see if you were still reading the list)….

But you get the picture. People can be like lemmings. There are loads and loads of people who just follow the other lemmings off the cliff. And if they survive the fall… they just roll over, and follow the next bunch of lemmings off the next cliff…. again and again and again.

The unthinking.  Heedless.  Imprudent.

Just be careful who you follow… is all I have to say.  Oh, it may just start out with Sock Monkeys… but following could lead to Deception… and that can be bigger than King Kong.  I’ll bet my sock monkeys on it.

“Group conformity scares the pants off me because it’s so often a prelude to cruelty towards anyone who doesn’t want to – or can’t – join the Big Parade.”   – Bette Midler