Just because this Passat commercial reminds me of a true story....

So about, oh, fifteen or twenty years ago I was getting ready to drive my little nephew from Vermont to visit his grandparents in Washington, DC.  That's a 9-hour drive, not including gas and bathroom breaks for those of you who are interested.

Very early in the morning of the big drive the kid is dropped off with a little suitcase.  His dad hands me a box of audio tapes.  "What's this?" I ask.  "It's his audio version of The Lord of the Rings- he loves listening to it, and it takes about ten hours to get through."

"Oh cool" I replied.  "Does he have enough batteries for his Walkman to last that long?"  And here comes the punchline.

"Oh, he doesn't have a Walkman.  Don't you have a tape player in the car?"

No kidding.  I was expected to listen to The Lord of the Rings on my car's stereo system.  For nine hours.  Seriously.

I had totally forgotten this story until I saw this ridiculous, obnoxious commercial.  Who the hell plans a road trip and then forces his companion to listen exclusively to one thing all the way?

BTW, considering that everyone except me has a Smartphone these days, isn't this kind of outdated anyway?  What stopped the guest from just whipping out his phone, a pair of ear buds, and living his own little world while the idiot, selfish asshat  driver learned Spanish?

Oh, and no- I don't really remember exactly how it worked out, but I didn't listen to one minute of  The Lord of the Rings during that drive.  Not. One. Minute.