Our semi-annual invasion is in full swing. Like supermom, we are being inundated with box elder bugs, as happens around every equinox. Now that the weather has turned cold and blustery, the little orange and black critters are using all their resources to get inside the house. AJ has been on bug patrol, pointing out all the dead ones lying along the window and door sills. This morning as he walked into the bathroom, he bent down to take a look at one on the floor and poked it gently with his finger.

�Mommy, there�s a bug on the floor! And it�s undead!�

It took me a while to try to explain to AJ why this statement made me laugh so hard. The vision of a parade of zombie bugs was a little too much for me. I�m envisioning a remake of The Night of the Living Dead with an all-insect cast.

There are a surprising number of hits for a google search of �zombie bug.� Alas, none is as entertaining as the idea of a zombie bug.

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Yesterday, one of the mom�s at AJ�s playgroup showed up in a �mini-poncho,� a garment that looks like a cross between a miniskirt and your grandma�s favorite afghan. As she played with it, pulling it back onto her shoulders as she talked, she confided, �I THINK it�s cute, but it might just be really stupid. What do you think? There was a moment of silence that was slightly too long before we all chimed in that of course it looked cute, although I�m not sure any of us was entirely convincing.

The idea of armless garments for women seems like a throwback to the era of corsets, hobble skirts and foot-binding. And yet they are everywhere. Marshall Field�s flagship store in downtown Chicago was touting �CAPELETS!� (which appear to be fancy ponchos) as the must-have item in several of its windows last time I walked by there. At least �capelet� SOUNDS cute.

Amanda Fortini, writing for Slate, has addressed the poncho phenomenon with similar incredulity. She refers to it as �the hideous trend that is inflicting America.� �Friends don�t let friends wear ponchos," touts Slate's cover page. "The fashion trend that must be stopped."

So for you poncho and capelet wearers out there, what is the attraction? Do you have something to hide? Are you trying to avoid work by making the statement that your arms are useless appendages? Or would you just rather be curled up on the sofa under an afghan? If the latter, why not just go whole hog and wear pajamas and bunny slippers? Or perhaps I can fashion you a poncho out of AJ�s security blanket. It�s a lovely shade of blue.

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