It's time to play another game of Is It Just Me, or What? Here are the simple rules.

I tell the story and my reaction. You tell me if it's just me, or what. Simple enough? Okay, here goes:

I was down in Carytown yesterday afternoon.  If you're not familiar with this charming, little, Richmond neighborhood, let me just say that it's filled with trendy boutiques, salons, restaurants and the like, most of which cater to an upscale clientele.  While plenty of young people frequent the area, for the most part, the retailers play to a bit more of the older shoppers. The city's most conservative and exclusive neighborhoods  border on Carytown.

As I strolled down Cary Street, I passed a home decor shop, one that definitely is going after that upper income, more mature customer.  Looking in the window, I could see a wide variety of high-priced merchandise; such things as vases, furniture, linens, and the like.

Knowing that this pricey boutique is what it is, I was somewhat taken aback by two items on display in the front window.  They were both beautifully embroidered throw pillows. They would go well in the living rooms of Richmond's finest homes, especially if the homeowner wanted to make a statement.

Actually, the pillows made their own statements. And, in my opinion,they were somewhat unexpected, even shocking, if you will.  On one pillow, three initials had been embroidered: OMG. A little bold, I thought, but, I guess we are living in a relatively new millennium and things are changing. Then I noticed the second pillow. It also had three letters embroidered on it. I almost shudder to tell you what they were.  But, I will.  There, right in the window, on this pillow, were the letters WTF.

What the hey, I'm thinking. What is wrong with this picture.  The world has come along way since Rhett Butler cursed out Scarlet O'Hara.  I know the movies and TV programming are filled with profanities. I know that it's not that unusual to hear both men and women hurling forth the worst of the four-letter words in public. But I wasn't prepared for such vulgarity to be introduced into what I would consider to be art.

I guess I really am a dinosaur. But, in my day, which I guess has come and gone, you just wouldn't find that sort of thing on Cary Street, maybe in Spencer's Gifts, but hardly anywhere else. And how did things go from zero to 80 so quickly?  I mean, one day the pillows are saying "Home Sweet Home," and the next it's "WTF."  Is it the whole Internet/texting thing that's done this?  Has mankind become so dumbed down, that seeing and even using three-letter abbreviations that are obviously grossly profane doesn't even cause one to bat an eye?

Is it just me...or What?  If it's just me, then what's next?  I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see a reproduction of Mona Lisa making an obscene gesture.