Cupcakes

This morning, in the baked goods section of my college dining hall--not the dungeon-like one with the more complete salad bar, but the one with a slightly more pleasant ambiance and rather less good food--I saw a perplexing sight. It was an array of cupcakes. Now, seeing such an unapologetically non-breakfasty dessert on my first morning of classes--in my choice of chocolate or vanilla, no less!--was enough to catch my attention; but what was on these cupcakes, far too appetizing for 8 am, was even more bewildering. Formed in icing atop a chocolate or vanilla base were the words "I [heart] NYC."

My initial, early-morning reaction was to pick one up. After all, I do love New York. I am from New York! Plus, it was a cupcake. I could save it for after my first classes.

Then I showed the cupcake to my friend. "Wait," I said, my neurons quickening as the drowse of the morning began to slowly wear off. "Do you think this is a 9/11 cupcake?"

My friend the dormant blogger agreed. There were no other possibilities. Football is a favorite theme of our dining hall cupcake decorators, but New York City (thankfully) lacks its own team, and ____ College/University is sufficiently far from the city to justify a show of New York pride.

I ate the cupcake, but I am still not sure what to think of the sentiment of 9/12 cupcakes. Sure, the design was certainly less offensive than what they could have possibly conceived of, but maybe it would have been for the best to keep recognition of the 9/11 anniversary off cupcakes entirely. Or, I guess, we could just as easily have gone without cupcakes for breakfast.

What do you think?