So might the singer-songwriter and even the actress or whatever she is. The firefighter could be African American-assuming they’re all Americans-she might be Latina, but so might the tennis player. But except for the blonde astronaut and surfer I can’t tell what ethnicity each is. I have no idea what the Barbie in the purple ball gown’s supposed to be. She just has that Taylor Swift vibe about her, even if she’s not blonde-tennis player, ballet dancer, surfer-Surfer’s a job? Can be, dude. Veterinarian, astronaut, firefighter, musician-she's a guitarist who I imagine writes her own songs and fronts her own band. The Barbies’ jobs are the sort of jobs I expect the marketers have determined most little girls can imagine themselves doing and enjoying. Many are multply-degreed, but that’s not what even most grown-ups think of when they think of astronauts. Most astronauts are professionals-scientists and engineers, and, considering what they have to know to fly, pilots. But only one of them is a professional, the veterinarian. Fun jobs, in the sense that none of them sell insurance, work a cash register, spend the day entering data, or are running for public office.
Since there’s no Disney movie being merchandised at the moment, the toys are the usual Mattel go-to’s: Hot Wheels cars for boys, mini-Barbies for girls. They don’t call them boys meals and girls meals anymore, but that’s what they are. While I was waiting for the coffee to transubstantiate, I wandered over to this display of the current choir of Happy Meal Toys. Yesterday morning, after dropping Mrs M and Ken off at church, I made my usual pilgrimage to the McChapel for a sacramental cup of the best coffee in the world and to use the holy WiFi. She has a mission: Happy Meal toy display at the McDonald's in New Paltz, New York.