A 'Brief' Story

It's basically a three-line story. 

There's this tourist type island in the Philippines called Boracay Island.  It's three miles long (north to south), and maybe at the thickest point, three-quarters of a mile.  It's where people go for a decent price, with cost savings involved. 

If you can imagine beautiful white sandy beaches, luxury hotels, palm trees, and coral reefs just yards away from the beach....it's almost paradise. 

So last week, some Taiwanese lady showed up on the island with her boyfriend.  She unpacked, and pulled out her beach gear....dressing for the boyfriend to admire, and then they strolled out on the beach. 

Her attire?  It was enough to worry the local Philippine folks, and they called the authorities. 

They show up....look at the attire, and then arrest/apprehend the lady....giving her a fine for a string bikini that they called “inappropriate.”  2600 Pesos, which is around $50.

So I kinda wondered, with fashion such as it is.....how do you rate as inappropriate with a bikini?    Various news sources carried the story but left this to your imagination.  This is one of the things I hate about modern journalism....they leave you with more questions.

But finally, one Brit paper had the picture.  So in Alabama lingo, the critical part of this lady's bottom bikini would have been measured in three strips of hay twine.  Its safe to say there wasn't much left to imagine.  Luckily, she was a Taiwanese lady and of small build....had this been a regular Texas gal....the three strips of hay twine would not have been sufficient. (note for Alabama folks: we aren't talking about the part going horizontal, this was the vertical part of the bikini) (also note: Alabama folks are always clever for coming up with measurements for things which you typically never hear about)

But this brings to the topic of vacationing in foreign lands, the modesty or lack of modesty while on vacation, and how people tend to push the envelope. 

Having traveled around the world, and having sat on beaches in Greece, Australia, Denmark, Germany, and Spain....it's to say that I've seen public acceptance pushed to the maximum.  Women get the idea that it's a vacation resort, and what is done there....isn't going to be seen by their friends or neighbors.  So they push things.

This Taiwanese gal is probably a bit embarrassed about the incident and will probably burn the bikini upon arriving back home.  But you have to wonder.....was this a yearly production item, and if 40,000 Taiwanese women bought the ultra-thin bikini, and this is just the beginning of a problem year on beaches. 

Last Night's Debate

After watching around 40 minutes of clips from the Democratic debate last night, I would offer four observations:

1.  Joe Biden's denial of anything 'wrong' with his son and the Ukraine business....probably was true.  On ethics of Joe in the deal-making, yeah....Joe's ethics are fairly tainted.  He did a decent job to explain his piece, but it's a one-star minute of chatter. 

2.  Warren's explanation on how money comes out of thin air for "Medicare for all"?  The wealthy and corporations will be the tax target, which she says in blunt language.  Will the wealthy and corporations simply pass this cost along to the regular consumer?  Yes.  She avoided that topic, but regular people will pay for the cost factor....whether they like that idea or not.

3.  The 'criminal in the White House' quote.....over and over?  What charges?  Surely by now.....almost three complete years in the White House, you could have forty Democratic lawyers-pretending-to-be-political figures rig up charges.  Yet, it's mostly just hot air and theatrical stuff. 

4.  Winner of the evening?  Probably Warren, with Beto and Mayor Pete clobbering each other over 'courage' being the real laugh of the evening. 

Personally, I'd prefer to halt the whole debate thing, and just end the torment on Democratic voters.  Admit Warren is the only potential candidate for the primary season (still 120-plus days away).  Get on with it.