So I was sipping my hot chocolate,
\nwaiting, idly noting the arrivals and departures,
\npretty well ignoring the four teenage girls
\ngabbing, giggling, at the next table,
\nwhen the whole chemistry of the place changed:<\/p>\n
a good-looking young guy sauntered in,
\ngave one of the girls a quick wave,
\nstepped up to the counter to give his order.
\nHe glanced quickly around the room,
\ngave a girl at the table a quick grin.<\/p>\n
The air seemed to return to the table beside me
\nas the girls started chattering, not asking.
\nHe approached the table, all skinny sixteen
\nyears of casual sociability, debonairly clutching
\nhis coffee. He had worn a wet bathing suit all day<\/p>\n
he said. It stank he said because he had thrown it
\ninto a heap with his towel and left it in his locker
\nfor a couple of days, so he was uncomfortable wearing it
\nbecause it was cold, but not see-through like a girl’s.<\/p>\n
It was here that I tuned out, overloaded.
\nI tried to picture myself in that situation
\nat that age. I couldn’t see myself with
\nenough confidence to address a full table of girls
\nat that age, nor would I have talked about my
\nstinky crotch, nor would girls have worn
\nbathing suits that went transparent when wet.<\/p>\n
When I was a kid, sex was too scary to talk about
\nexcept with other boys. Bathed in that fount
\nof misinformation, we kept our distance except
\nin simple one-on-one disarming combat.
\nAnd, sadly, transparent bathing suits had neither
\nbeen invented nor worn. But that was then
\nand this was at the next table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kids today are truly different from kids a half century ago when it comes to sex. (#924) Continue reading