Thursday, September 01, 2011

The Burritos Friends-with-Benefits Place on Flagler

Today Carol and I had lunch at a semi-fast, Mexican food place on Flagler Street called Lime. It opened several months ago, and has been very successful. So we visited today for the first time and tried their veggie burritos. (They were OK, but it's really hard to beat the rice-and-beans Vegetarian TropiChop at Pollo Tropico for half the price.)

Lime's had several hip signs (its ambiance is South Beach), and one of them was "Think of us as 'a friend with benefits'." Carol was not impressed. But that got us talking about how shredded to pieces was the idea of "marriage" (or, as the priest said in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" mawidge). There is so little dignity left of marriage among such a large portion of the Millineals that "friendship" is not only disconnected from it but, when connected with physical intimacy, stands on its own, and is held in greater esteem at that. Plus sex is fun and without consequence, right? So, then, Lime can sell more burritos by invoking the relationship institution of the decade.

When did marriage get so disconnected from friendship? I thought it was a gateway to greater and surer friendship, with the benefits immeasurably enhanced, at least potentially. What happened? How did we get this way?

3 comments:

Sean Meade said...

one possible reason: everyone is focused on being happy/following their heart to the exclusion of all else.

as we know, following your heart will not make you happy. trying to be happy will not make you happy.

happiness and, more importantly, meaning, can only emerge from commitments that go beyond the vagaries of what we want and feel.

i have two close friends i'm walking with after their wives have told them to leave and it is a disaster for the men and the kids at least (one wife has convinced herself she's happier).

since our society has relativized all values, the best we can tell people is 'follow your heart' and we are reaping that whirlwind.

Paul Stokes said...

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV)

Sean Meade said...

that's the verse we've taught our twins in response to their literature curriculum's stupid annual 'lessons' on following your heart!