When driving through Rio de Janeiro there are any numbers of things you’d expect to see right outside your window.  An adolescent juggler asking you for change during a red light is a pretty common.  A man jogging by in a winter coat and Speedo happens less frequently but leaves quite an impression.  I had never considered the possibility of a fictional character meeting my gaze through the window but last week I looked up to see Woody Woodpecker staring at me.  I wonder how many people purchase a stuffed Woody Woodpecker while stopped at a red light.
    Stuffed animals are just the beginning of what is sold at traffic lights in Rio.  It’s possible to do your Christmas shopping while stuck in traffic.  In addition to Woody, I have seen hand puppets that squeak, kites, plastic cars, pirated computer software and an antique gramophone.  Some of the more practical items for sale include newspapers, cell phone chargers for the car, and snacks to get you through the seemingly perpetual traffic jam.  I hear that the traffic is even worse in Sao Paulo than in Rio and I wouldn’t be surprised if Paulistas just go ahead sell preheated TV dinners. 
    In Rio there’s no need to make an extra stop for groceries as long as you work far enough from home.  Six or seven intersections are probably enough to get the apples, grapes, oranges, strawberries, tomatoes, bananas, papayas and tangerines you need.  Unfortunately, you will still have to go to the store for any meat products.  I’ve not seen any men with pork chops or freshly plucked chickens walking in between cars but maybe I just haven’t driven through the right part of town.
    Publicly, I said I was impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of men tapping on car windows with a box of gum or a box of cigarette lighters.  Truthfully, I pitied these men who were so desperate for money they were trying to sell things to people stopped in traffic.  People don’t actually shop from inside their cars I scoffed.  But then I remembered I’m American.   My countrymen coined the term “drive-through.”
    We don’t have people at every intersection selling snack items in the United States because we have built little buildings around them and given them their own windows through which they hand purchased items to customers reaching out of from their cars.  The prevailing philosophy in the US seems to be if we can make it than we should be able to get it without unbuckling our seatbelts. 
    We’ve been getting meals through our car windows for decades.  Thanks to drive-through and curbside pick-up you can bring home to the family a rotisserie chicken, steak and baked potatoes, or hamburgers without having to turn off the ignition.  If you prefer more international cuisine just drive up and roll down your window at the Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Jamaican, Japanese, or Lebanese restaurant in your neighborhood.  Although, chances are good these places deliver so you don’t really need to leave your house but you might need to stop at the drive-through liquor store and pick-up a bottle of wine to go with dinner.
    We can handle both our dry-cleaning and bank deposits through the car window.  Of course there’s the drive through car wash, which you can hit right after you pick-up your prescription at the drive-through pharmacy across the street.  There are drive-through Starbucks and drive-through wedding chapels.
    If you’re feeling morally conflicted about saying your marriage vows while the car is in park you can get some spiritual guidance at a church in Michigan that has started drive-through prayer services.  Customers don’t even have to get out of their cars.  Just make a loop around the parking lot, fill out a form with your prayer request and one of the pastors will hold your hand through the window while he prays with you.  I just want to know whom I complain to if my order gets mixed up.
    It now appears, however, that shopping from your car is no longer convenient enough for Americans.  Now we want to shop from our bedrooms.  Thanks to the Internet we don’t have to make the walk to the car in the first place.  We don’t even have to get dressed.  Today’s transactions don’t take place through a car window.  They happen in front of a computer.  Clothes, groceries even college degrees can now be purchased and delivered to you without leaving the home. 
    Last year while visiting my mom a box was left on the front doorstep.  I stepped outside and grabbed the box, was surprised by how light it was, and looked inside to find 1,000 live and wriggling worms.  I stared in disbelief at the worms creeping up the sides of box.  It was the first time I had seen live insects delivered to a person’s doorstep.  I couldn’t figure out if this was a great achievement of civilization or if God is now delivering plagues by post.
    A world where your pet lizard’s mealworms can be purchased from your desk and delivered live to your doorstep a day later is an impressive place.  Now that I live in Rio I find myself missing the convenience of the drive-through and whining because my favorite stores don’t offer international delivery on their websites.  There are many things I can buy from my car here but I’ve been spoiled.  Buying a stuffed cartoon character while stopped at a red light isn’t convenient enough.  I want to sit at my computer and purchase my entire wardrobe without having to go through the trouble of getting dressed.