Backpacks & Kazoos

Often, the sheer brilliance of my staff of colleagues is mind-boggling or, if nothing else, at least hard to fathom. Believing the premise that timing is everything, then consider an office where its players launch into a seemingly obtuse conversation regarding the origin and merits of backpacks and kazoos.

The fact that last night, some 50 million folks were officially glued to their television sets in an earnest attempt to hear and understand every word being uttered by Barack Obama, the President of the United States, and his adversary Governor Mitt Romney, didn’t dissuade an early morning launching of our staff’s latest query…

When did so many people begin donning backpacks and where did the kazoo come from?

Some less than understanding people might think of us as softheaded; others might merely contort their facial expression in a visual display of contempt.  Still others might choose to ignore our research with the ultimate label of foolhardy bestowed as their offering of stipulated contempt.

I would like to point out in defense of my office, my colleagues, and myself, ours is a vital endeavor. Think for a moment what the result would have been last evening if either of the presidential candidates had asked the other about the origin of the kazoo or, how a fad spread from country to country, around the world, became the most recognizable accoutrement since the advent of the black leather jacket or bobby socks.

Of course, I refer to the backpack. Every sniveling little monster on their way to or from school travels with the infamous backpack seemingly loaded with nothing but the best in research and necessary schoolbooks.

Perhaps for those who eventually match up to the scholarly demeanor of my Kalmenson & Kalmenson colleagues, there will be buried at the bottom of each of their backpacks… their very own, personal kazoo.