Summer has definitely arrived - the heat, the humidity...and for some reason memories of a time when summer meant something completely different: get to the beach, wear skimpy clothing, put the top down on the car, and most of all HAVE SOME FUN!!

And so my trip down memory lane begins - thinking of all of the great summer vacations I took with my family, the fun times I had with friends, and the sense of freedom that only summer can bring.

Of all the memories of summers past, my favorite had to be the summer of 1970...I had just graduated from high school...women's liberation was in full swing - you couldn't turn on the television without seeing some kind of women's rights rally, and inevitably a few women who would entertain the world as they made a bonfire and burned their bras!!

Fashion designers took notice and fashion took on a more free and liberated style...never before had clothing been designed to be worn without bras, though surely in the small town I grew up in, no one would even think about going braless. Well, unless you were 17 years old, had just graduated from high school, and were ready for adventure.

One day I was shopping for an outfit to wear out that evening when I came across the cutest little top - I'd never even tried on anything so skimpy before. Though I can't tell you what I ate for breakfast this morning, I can tell you that I remember every detail about that cute little top - it was a soft pattern, sleeveless with a collar, buttons down the front, and it was short - it ended just below the bust - where there was fabric meant to be tied into a bow under the bust. Well I just had to have it as it fit perfectly...and best of all I didn't need to wear a bra with it!! Note: for those of you who don't know me, I am well endowed, so if Iwent without a bra the world would know it!!

That night as I got dressed to go out I couldn't wait to put on my new top (minus my bra) with a new pair of low-cut jeans I had just purchased (Brittney Spears was not the first girl to show off her belly!! And in those days I had a belly I was proud to show off!!). My parents always liked me to have dinner with them before I went out, so I joined them in the kitchen for a meal before leaving.

I promise you I will never, ever forget the look on my father's face when he glanced up from reading his newpaper to say hello to me - looked at my outfit - and stopped breathing!!! I can see it as though it had happened yesterday - his mouth dropped open and he said, "where do you think you are going dressed like that..." I calmly explained that I was going out with my friends for the evening, to which he replied, "there is no way you are leaving this house without a bra!!". And so the battle began...I was a "liberated woman" who had rights, and I could wear what I wanted!! Dad's argument was that as long as I lived in his house I followed his rules and his rule was no bra, no going out!!!

This went on for some time, and to tell you the truth I honestly can't remember if I ever did put the bra on or not...but I sit here thinking about how great it would be if my dad were still here for me to argue with about silly little things...how great it would be to be young and feel as though you could do anything and be anything...and most of all how wonderful it was to be 17 in the summer of 1970. ~ Andrea :-)