Monday Musing: Coffee and cookies and pop culture associations

A couple of months ago I discovered that if I stopped by the coffee shop on the corner mid afternoon and picked up a coffee and a cookie, I would be a happy camper for the rest of the afternoon. Earlier this week I realized that the inflection I used to say, ". . . and a cookie" was borrowed from Buffy. You know, when she tells Wesley, "and afterwards I get a cookie."

This got me thinking about how ingrained things can become that we aren't even aware of. For example, every time I read The Lorax I hear my mother's voice. And every once and a while I'll find myself saying "I think I'll move to Australia." When I read Good Night, Gorilla, I hear tinkly music and the voice of Anthony Edwards in my head.

Kids love the repetitive, because it is familiar, but when do you reach the point of saturation, of too much? Does it depend on the content? Indoctrination to The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one thing, but what about when it's Dora? Is one OK and the other not? If so, why?

Clearly, I have some more thinking to do.