The other day the girls and I were at the park. We were sitting at a lovely, rough-hewn pine picnic table.

“Mommy, why does this bench have a hole in it?” five-year-old Sophie wanted to know, pointing at a spot where one of the knots had fallen through.

“Well, honey, what do you think this bench is made out of?” I prompted.

“Wood!” she replied.

“That’s right,” I told her. “And where does wood come from?”

“Home Depot!” she bellowed proudly.

And they say we’re raising a generation of consumers.