All the Presidents' (Men and) Portraits

Sunday morning's ritual: a large cup of coffee and piles of newspaper spread out all over my bed. Then, out into the world to the farmers' market, with its abundance of color, texture, and taste. The Santa Monica market is brimming with eccentric characters vying for attention. Last Sunday, it was a slim, shirtless young fellow, with his pants so low that the only mystery remaining was whether he'd been circumcised or not. Looking at the multitude of his boring tattoos, I wondered if he had been exposed to art in school or had ever been taken to a museum. You see, I have a theory that if our schools provided a decent art education, then maybe young people like him would at least choose more interesting tattoos. And maybe with more art education in school, we would be spared the embarrassment of seeing hoards of abysmal portraits of our leaders in the halls and chambers of power throughout the nation...