Buried deep inside the minds of far too many Americans is something I am going to call, "clean table syndrome." Symptoms of this disease include a fear of anything non-decorative on top of tables or a fear of anything at all on the surface of a table.

It may seem far fetched, but it is far too true. What is up with America's obsession with clear surfaces ? Why bother having a table if you are not even going to put anything on it ?

Just consider the idea. Every home design magazine that shows a kitchen shows off the kitchen with absolutely nothing on top of the counters, except for a tastefully placed pot or jar of flour. It makes me wonder how the people cook. Do they put down plastic over the surfaces, cook, and then incinerate the plastic ? There is no point in bothering to have fifty feet of counter space if it will not be used.

Maybe, though, this is all a plot by some secret consortium of cabinet makers. There is probably a direct relationship between the amount of things on a counter and the amount of storage space needed to store the items which might have occupied the counter.

In short, people everywhere need to put things on their tables. What other point is there of having one ?