Transvestia

a soft touch for a bigger allowance, when he is dressed. I wouldn't even put beyond him thoughts of a subtle blackmail situation. You give me what I want or else I'll tell the neighbors... But to think that the kid is going to fall in love with dresses and make-up? Nuts! You can't even get him to brush his teeth once a day, how would you expect him to spend at least an hour dabbling with jars of make-up in front of the mirror? Moreover, if the kid has slight transvestic tendencies chances are he'll borrow his sister's clothes so he can go out wearing a shirt and jeans and nobody will guess that he's impersonating his own sister. His hair is long enough anyway, and often longer than his kid sister's. Thus disposing of premise #1, we move

on to: -

PREMISE #2 A young boy needs a father image at home, someone to look up to, a source of inspiration. Musn't destroy said image by allowing him to see dad in skirts.

Phooey! That premise was invented by a very conceited father (and most fathers are conceited). He wants the little monster to become a chip off the old block, but he doesn't stop to think that the "old block" is usually pretty much eaten by termites. What kind of image does the father us ually project? A beer fan, or a cocktail habitue. A guy who ends up with a coronary condition either from drinking or from too much work (or both). A man always in debt, who spends all his life meeting bank payments. A chap who only scans the headlines and knows more about the Chicago White Sox than about modern American poetry. A fellow who thinks last years' car is a disgrace and simply must break his neck working to have the new model. A man who has no more imagination than a house fly. An in- dividual who is enslaved by material things and goals and gives very little time, if any, to things of the spirit. I'd say that the kid would do much

better in life if he tried to imitate his mother's

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