They didn't wear protective underwear in the 30's....

This photo made me laugh, after being sour all day and don't look at it in large till you read. It reminded me of a day at Rye Beach, to study, of all things. The Goethe Institut of Munich was hosting a summer school at my university, and we were in a group, faculty and students, and actually studying out in the open. I remember reading my first novella in a language that was very foreign to me, and one of the faculty saw me struggling with my dictionary, and gave me the best advice I ever had.

'Do NOT look up every word you do not know. Read the sentences. It will fall into place, and you will begin to understand. Use the dictionary only if you really get STUCK.' I trusted my mentor, although I was sceptical, and all of a sudden, it all clicked, and had to use it less and less.

They were all amazing. I acheived two semesters in eight weeks', and got praise as best in my class for progress. And it was sort of easy for me, and we had much fun, it was never pressurized.

I don't think I have ever laughed so hard or so much in one summer. And we would take short breaks and go into the icy waters of the North Atlantic as one does, when lolling around on a beach, just to keep fresh. And the guys on the German and Austrian faculty.... welllllll... they didn't wear a jock strap under their bathing suits. Which is a must for puritanical American males. So they attracted the attention of the female students, which led to speculation and commentary... because.. if you go into the North Atlantic water... your junk wants to crawl up into your abdomen, because it is so cold.

And one of the women in our group looked at one of the male European teachers clinically, and said, 'Ya know... if you see a guy like that on the beach? He's either European or gay.' I bust out laughing so hard...

Because it was probably true. I hated 'supportive underwear'. It was clammy after you'd get out of the water, and uncomfortable, and sort of disgusting. It would take me years to just go European style and leave it off, and be comfortable on a nude beach in Europe.

On the latter... if you are young and slim... most everybody is really nothing to waste a second look at, just saying.

So the picture... they hadn't invented jockstraps yet? I have no idea. But the kid became famous. He won five Olympic gold medals in swimming. Broke hundreds of records. And turned out to be THE Tarzan, King of the Jungle. Johnny Weißmüller. And was originally from Austria. That Tarzan yell? He once said it was part yodeling, I remember reading that. So he was European, no jock.... and as far as I know, never gay.

So much for that theory.