Of all the instantly memorable things that happened in
2014, of all the phenomena that warmed our hearts or raised our hackles, one
thing stands out.
Alex from Target, captured for posterity in a viral photo.
If you were alive at any point in the last year, you saw
the photo of this teenager bagging groceries at a Target. What an unforgettable
image that says so much about our lives in 2014! We really should send this
photo into space so aliens will discover it, or perhaps put it in a time
capsule alongside a copy of the Constitution and the original lyric sheet to
Rebecca Black’s “Friday.”
Why is this photo so momentous? It’s a teenager! With brown
hair! Working at a retailer with hundreds of nationwide locations! And he’s
wearing a red uniform shirt!
If you still don’t understand the significance of Alex,
then you’re just out of it and I feel bad for you. Whenever I read an account
of a photo going viral or “charming the web” or something like that, I don’t question.
I obey. I immediately move that viral thing to the top of the inbox of my
permanent memory. I mean, CNN interviewed Alex and as we know from its
extensive coverage of people with upset stomachs on cruise ships, as well as
the theorizing of where a plane that disappeared over the Pacific Ocean could
have possibly ended up, the network only covers the crème de la crème of news.
Along with my wedding day and other select events from my
life, I will take my memory of Alex from Target to my grave.
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