Overrated

There are many, many differences between Chapel Hill, where I grew up, and Baltimore, where I've lived since 2002. Basketball vs. lacrosse, BBQ vs. crabcakes - and even, one wants to add, very different feels to the local violence. For instance, I recall a police blotter account in Chapel Hill that described one man throwing an Egg McMuffin at another in a McDonald's parking lot. In Baltimore, parking lot quarrels often assume a different form: across the street from a friend's house, one man recently stabbed his colleague in the head (a phrase, by the way, that becomes more and more spooky the more you think about it). Or you might phrase it in this way: in Baltimore, there has been a series of violent and possibly race-motivated attacks on city buses, resulting in at least one case in a city bus wrapped in crime scene tape. In Chapel Hill, on the other hand, the city buses are all completely free, and serve a ridership that includes a rather high percentage of placid university-bound riders who sometimes discuss classical music on the way to work.

No, really. My dad used to ride the F bus to UNC, and several colleagues of his shared his deep interest in music. One day, as a result, a general question was posed: who is the most overrated composer in the classical canon? Various votes were cast, and eventually, if I remember the story correctly, it was Mahler who walked away with the prize.

Which got me thinking: is there an overrated aspect to fathering an infant? Initially, one wants to say no, not at all - precisely because the bar seems to be set so low for American fathers in general. If we show some genuine interest in the child at halftime of the Ravens' first exhibition game, well, then we're doing well. But push further: in reality, there are certain stereotypes that might also be called expectations. For instance, a father is supposed to simply abhor changing diapers (a task that I'd call underrated: it can actually be really fun to clean someone up, kiss their belly, and get them back in the game). But he's supposed to enjoy, on the other hand, the act of passing out cigars to relatives in the hospital. Given that smoking in the hospital premises is now illegal and punishable by fine, you'd probably want to count that as overrated.

Are there other contenders? Ah, readers of the blog, that's where you can help. The link to the comments page is just below; why not click and add a candidate of your own?