All on a summer's day

Yesterday it was hot! I highest reading I saw was 85. Yikes! In April. Go figure.

And speaking of figures, they were certainly on display. I needed to go to the Bethel lower campus before my grad school class in order to pick up my gift card prize from the poetry contest, and I observed first hand the differing tendencies of boys and girls when it comes to clothing selections on an unexpectedly warm day.

Last time I was on the college campus, roughly two weeks ago, it was cold; both sexes wore jeans and sweatshirts, or jackets over t-shirts. Their garb was similar in relation to the amount of skin covered by the clothing. But not yesterday! The gender differences came out. mmhmm. :)

Of a random ten guys, none wore sweatshirts or jackets. 4 wore long sleeve button shirts, the rest t-shirts, no tanks. 4 wore shorts (all of which were at the knee), the rest wore jeans or khakis. Two wore flip-flops, one wore "real" sandals, the rest were in tennis shoes.

The random ten girls, though.. two wore something long-sleeved, 2 were in t-shirts, 4 were in tank tops, and 2 were in those teeny little spaghetti-strapped summer sundresses that had no doubt been languishing in the closet all winter. The sundresses were as short as the shorts that another 4 of the girls were wearing. Like the guys, knee-length? Hahaha; try about 16 inches higher. Two more wore capris, and two were in jeans. As to footwear, 7 wore flip-flops, 2 were in fashionable sandals, and only one wore tennis shoes.

In general, much more skin showing on the girls. As much as they could rationalize, I think. Some could rationalize a lot, apparently. (and this is an Evangelical college. I shudder to think what might have been on display at a Hamline or a Macalester! Or maybe I should say quiver, not shudder. It would be more honest.)

To the guys' credit... there was very little noticeable staring. Furtive, yes, of course. I mean, c'mon. But on the whole, they were well-disciplined in their social behavior. No open leering. What they went to sleep thinking about, though, is anybody's guess.

The girls certainly gave them material.

The women at the seminary, however, showed much more decorum and restraint, as befits both their vocational direction and their additional years of, um ... seasoning?

Too bad. ;) Really, even great theologians like Thomas Aquinas talked of apprehending God through the use of one's senses, in the beauty of His creation. And the female half of humanity has that, in abundance. Surely male seminary students are past being tempted toward illicit juvenile bedtime fantasies, and can view women's beauty purely.

Or at least we would welcome the opportunity to try.