They go together,

♪ in the good ol' USA ♪

I drive an old Suburban, and the rental car my insurance company is paying for while the Burb gets fixed is also a Chevrolet. It’s a new thing for me- I’ve always driven Fords or Japanese cars. So the other day while making coffee I had that song in my head from the Chevy commercial back in the 70s. It’s nostalgic now but as a regular TV watcher in my wasted boyhood I got sick of that song. Here’s the original version that’ll stick in your head for the day if you dare to listen to it- at least the singer/piano player/composer has a great, deep voice:

Why am I bedeviling your brain with that jingle? Because my son’s answer made me laugh when I asked, “Hey Kenny, what four things come to mind when you think about the USA?” Kenny was raised in Japan with a Japanese mother, and his Japanese identity is stronger than his American. He’s never heard the Chevy song.

Kenny took a few seconds to think it over, and then said

• Hamburgers

• Freedom

• Coca Cola

• Conquest

Haha! That about sums it up. I don’t know if Kenny meant it that way but it sure sounds like,

“Everybody consume our stuff, and by the way, Freedom for me but not for thee!”

Addendum: After all the Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, Suzukis and Daihatsus I’ve driven, it sure is good to get back to the good ol’ American workmanship of a Chevy:

Hey, but we can still make these!

Scrumptious bacon cheeseburger photo: Thank you Hamburguesas Gruesas de Tijuana, S.A. de C.V.

Just kidding, it could very well be an American burger though the photo is from Armenian-sounding amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash, and that name is also a mouthful.