Dear Tell All: I recently chaperoned at my son's high school dance and was shocked by some of the moves I saw. It wasn't so much dancing as kids having sex standing up with their clothes on. I didn't know how far I could go in my role as chaperone, so I didn't stop it, but in retrospect I wish I'd spoken up.
I'm not conservative, so don't write me off as a fanatic. But I think any reasonable Madison parent would be justified in thinking this kind of dancing goes too far.
PTOhhh
Dear PTOhhh: I hate to break it to you, but in this situation you are conservative. You probably don't think of yourself that way because you engaged in the fashionably scandalous moves of your own adolescence, whether it was the Twist, the Hustle or slam-dancing.
Kids have been freaking out their parents with sexy dances since the waltz was denounced in the 19th century. The Charleston, the tango, twerking, grinding...every generation finds its own way to express forbidden sexuality through music and motion. Sorry, PTOhhh, but you couldn't stop it even if you'd spoken up at your son's event.
Face it: Teenagers have sex on the brain. That's not a crime against nature; it is nature. Let 'em have their fun on the dance floor.
Dear Tell All: I understand the anti-bike-rider sentiments of F. ("Madison Bicyclists Are Vermin," 3/13/2014). As a motorist in Madison, I have too often experienced a kind of defiant, entitled attitude from bicyclists who don't bother looking when a bike path crosses a road and who insist on riding on a busy no-bike-lane road during rush hour when a bike path is only two blocks away. Worse still are those bicyclists who ride at night, wear dark clothing, and don't have any lighting on their bikes.
As a bicyclist in Madison, I have been treated rudely by a motorist only once in 20 years.Maybe this is because I have lights on my bike, wear a helmet, and realize that I am no match for a vehicle weighing at least a ton.
TG
Do you have a question about life or love in Madison? Write Tell All, 101 King St., Madison, WI 53703. Or email tellall@isthmus.com.
