Don’t Swear Off Handguns Until You’ve Run With Them

Sun., Dec. 14, 1997

By Susan English susane@spokesman.com

A suggestion from National Rifle Association lobbyist Tanya K. Metaksa that jogging women pack their pistols in a fanny pack/holster prompted this response from writer Jason Zengerle in an American Prospect article: Do away with the holster altogether: “Just carry the gun in your hand, as if it were a hand weight. That way, not only would you be armed and dangerous, but you’d be working your upper body as well.” (From: Utne Reader)

Boos and hisses: We’re wondering why Conde Nast Sports for Women felt compelled to run John Madden’s Guide to Football. Here’s a news flash for the editors who solicited the article: Football isn’t neurosurgery, even we women can figure it out.

A giant step (you guess the direction): At one time, every state in the union had an alienation of affection law designed specifically to treat married women as if they were their husbands’ properties. A handful of states - Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, North and South Carolina and Utah - still have the law, and a small group are thinking of reintroducing a revised version of it. (From: Marie Claire magazine)

Think gifts: We weren’t going to stoop to this, but then we noticed some of the men in Victoria’s Secret the other night looking, well, puzzled. So, some tips for risk-free lingerie buying from Men’s Journal: Start simple, choose innocently sexy over sleazy. Know your stuff; beyond bras, panties and nightgowns, you enter a jungle of foreign and mysterious garments that might make for the perfect purchase - if only you knew what they were. Don’t be cheap. Size it up, and that doesn’t mean telling the saleswoman that your girlfriend looks to be the same size she is. “I ask men if their girlfriend’s breasts are the size of a lemon, an orange or a grapefruit - that’s A, B, and C,” says Manhattan lingerie shop owner Rebecca Apsan. Listen to your relationship.

A sign of the times? Christian diet programs are booming. The movement, which started in the ‘70s as a way to inspire evangelical Christians to ward off the sin of gluttony, has spawned a huge book industry, thousands of national Bible-study/weight-loss groups with names like Jesus Is the Weigh, and a video empire that includes the hot seller “Praise Aerobics.” (From: Utne Reader)

, DataTimes MEMO: Susan English is the Weekend Editor at The Spokesman-Review, contact her by mail at 999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201; by e-mail at susane@spokesman.com or by phone at 459-5488.

Susan English is the Weekend Editor at The Spokesman-Review, contact her by mail at 999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201; by e-mail at susane@spokesman.com or by phone at 459-5488.

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