I just had a shiver thinking David Warren was channeling my mother. :P Of course, even my husband says this, but I always assumed it was because he was married to ME.

This reminds of a CBC live radio broadcast from Wreck Beach in Vancouver - a totally nude beach for people of all ages. At the end of the broadcast, the reporter summarized the hour of interviews by saying that he was heading for the steps up to the street. He then mentioned this beautiful young woman 10 yards to his left, and how he couldn't help but wonder what she looked like with her clothes on.

If you dress like a slut, you should be prepared to be a slut, or at least treated as one. Otherwise it's false advertising, and it's amazing how many people can't figure this out.

I spent most of a year living on Wreck Beach, over thirty years ago in the early 70s, in a make-shift leanto partially constructed of driftwood.

Good times.

Posted by: Michael Herdegen at March 9, 2006 2:38 PM

Raoul:

No kidding, there are plenty of young girls who seem to think that they can dress provocatively, and then control who is allowed to look at them !

Posted by: Michael Herdegen at March 9, 2006 2:43 PM

Okay, Orrin. That last comment was beyond the pale.
But yeah, modest dressing and actually acting, you know, nice and friendly and sympatthetic and all that? I rather like that.

Must be the neanderthal in me. (Sloping forehead, check; lousy posture, check ...)

...hot for Iron Lady...

A related species are the face-piercers. As you try to enumerate all the extra holes they've punched in themselves, they invariably give off that "What are you looking at? " attitude. As you say, if you are trying to draw attention to yourself, you can't then assume you get to have control over whose attention you draw.

Those Bratz™ dolls, ugh.

No Bratz dolls are allowed in my house. When my 6-yr-old asked why, I started at the top of the doll's head and worked my way down through the 10 things wrong with that doll.

As for controlling who is looking at you, I also hate those little short shorts with cute sayings on them like "soccer" or "cheerleader." I always want to walk up to the 15-yr-old wearing them & inform them that 40-yr-old men can read their bottoms, too.

oj,
The operative word, "our", pertaining to the women, is missing from the article.
BTW, the post from Michael Herdegen sounded a bit over the top to me. Maybe I'm too old to appreciate a certain type of irony or satire,(in which case, abject apologies) but, Michael, it seems your parents were a little nuts in raising a five, or less, year old in such an environment.
Mike Daley

From his blog

Michael Herdegen
Gender: male
Occupation: Self Employed
Location: Las Vegas : Nevada : United States
About Me
I'm a late 30s American, born and bred, descended from mostly English and German stock. We've been around a while - one of my ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. (For the Colonials). I live in Salt Lake City, UT, although ideally I would live in Las Vegas, NV, or Denver, CO. I am a veteran of the US Army, and of Desert Storm, having spent eight years on active duty, plus a few more with the Nat'l Guard and U.S. Army Reserves. I have visited all 50 states, and have lived in 14 of them. I have visited 9 foreign countries, on 4 continents, and have lived in 3 of them. My work experience has been in customer service, the restaurant industry, the military, and long haul, over the road trucking. I am a bone-deep optimist. I believe that America has a very bright future in the 21st century, and that no nation will overtake the U.S. in terms of economic or military strength before 2050, at the very earliest. I used to be a football fan, but lately I've decided that watching sports is not the best use of my time. Ditto with watching fictional TV.

Michael's profile makes him out to be a very nice guy. I love optimists and also think we have a very bright future.

Hey, someone cared enough to look at my profile !
Cool.

No, Mike Daley, no irony or satire intended.
Both of my parents are quite literally nuts, in the judgment of family members and medical professionals, but not in ways which would have influenced their decision to live at Wreck Bay. After all, it was the 70s, man.

In thinking about how one could perceive my short post as being "over the top", it occurred to me that perhaps a sexual connotation had been attached to my recollection of it being "good times", given that it's now a nude beach.

What I meant was that for a young lad, living on a beach covered with piles of driftwood, some over 15' high, was like living at a playground.
Plus, we "camped out" every night.

Many people raised in a rural environment, especially in heavily forested areas, will have similar recollections of fun with nature.

Thanks, erp !!
Back atcha.

Posted by: Michael Herdegen at March 10, 2006 6:09 AM

"when a cool momma heats up, look out brother"

Michael H.,
For God's sake, if your profile is correct you were a very young child and I doubt very much your parents were living with you in a "driftwood lean to" for several years.
Your little post seems to have meant you were a really cool guy living in a lean to on a nude beach.
Ain't true! What else is false about your on line persona? I'd really hoped I'd missed some snarkiness regarding the previous wreck beach post.
However, since it matters little, I truly wish I could turn off my BS meter and leave people to their fantasy worlds.
MikeD