What a Piece of Work is Man

Apparently this is the summer of mad men. And no, I'm not talking about John McCain. I decided to take a bit of a break from politics this weekend and enjoy the last few days of summer in NYC. Instead of high-tailing out of the city for labor day weekend, I decided to stay in town, catch up with friends, and find low-cost/free cultural entertainment. I actually began my summer fun free (and some cheap) festivities a bit earlier than normal this year and managed to sneak in quite a bit of NYC's fine summer happenings including:

• Shakespeare in the Park's performance of Hair: Absolutely worth getting up at 6AM on a Saturday morning! And yes, anyone that knows me knows that almost nothing is worth that kind of sacrifice. It looks like they have extended the run through September 14th- if you haven't already gone to see it, do whatever you can to get tickets. You won't be sorry!
• Lincoln Center out of Doors "Sounds of Africa" Performance with Extra Golden, The Ex, Mahmoud Ahmed and Getatchew Mekurya. See NY Times Review here.
• Public Farm One (P.F.1) Exhibit at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center
• Gorilla Repertory's Production of Hamlet at Fort Tryon Park/The Cloisters

Ah, but this is a bit of a diversion. Why am I speaking of mad men? Well, it is true that Hamlet is certainly a story of madness but this is not the story that I am referring to. Today's story centers on a friend of a friend's boob job!

So, I was hanging out with a friend yesterday and she was telling me that her friend recently got a boob job. Okay, this is by no means unusual or especially shocking. What is shocking is how she paid (or rather didn't pay) for her surgery. Apparently this girl could not afford the surgery but was extremely eager to find a way to enhance her otherwise great body (which she seems to have no problem flaunting on a semi-regular basis). So, she did what every smart person in trouble does- she reached out to her best friend - The Internet! I can't say I know the details of her internet research, but my guess is it didn't take too long before she found the charity of all charities - a place where flat chested girls everywhere (or future porn stars) can reach out to generous philanthropic souls and ask for pity, compassion, and yes, a boob job!! Apparently, while nonprofits struggle to find money to rebuild homes after hurricanes, feed hungry children during a famine, and provide life-saving drugs to those with H.I.V., girls everywhere can find a true way out of poverty, insecurity and most importantly, those loose fitting strapless dresses. I know that I feel much better knowing that this girl, and so many others, will never again have to struggle to choose between putting food on the table and inflating their lives and egos with silicone! Rest easy, dear friends, free boobs are here and here to stay!