A Short Play About the Language of Underwear

[CC & Mom have returned to the hotel room from dinner in San Jose, CA.]

Mom: People who like cold weather must love it here.

CC: Yeah. A lot of people love it here.

Mom: Even though it's cold outside, people are wearing thongs.

CC: Mom, these days, thongs refer to underwear. I think you probably want to say flip-flops.

Mom: Flip-flops?

CC: Flip-flops.

Mom: That's a made up American word!

CC: Yes, it is, but it will get you into less trouble

Mom: So thongs are t-strings.

CC, cracking up: G-strings.

Mom: But they look like a T! Why do they call them g-strings?

CC, almost unintelligible because of the laughter: I don't know. But they're different from thongs.

Mom: How are they different?

CC: G-strings have a skinny piece of cloth, like a string. Thongs have a little more material.

Mom: Ohhhh. Ok. Flip-flops, thongs, and g-strings.

CC: Yes.

Mom: I've seen people wear the thongs at the gym to make sure their butts look good. I can understand that.

A Short Play About Mary, Beth, and Joseph (or Maybe Marybeth and Joseph)

[CC & Judith are catching up on the phone.]

JW: Hey, I read the CLC HBR article.

CC: The one on hipos and hipers?

JW: Yeah!

CC: The whole thing?

JW: Yes, the whole thing.

CC: How?

JW: Well, I don't have a subscription because it's too expensive, but you can go on the San Francisco library site and read the entire issue there.

CC: Does HBR know about this?

JW: Well, yeah, they must. The library has a license. And you have to enter your library card number.

CC: Ohhh... that makes way more sense.

JW: They don't let just any Mary, Beth, and Joseph read what they want.

CC: ...

JW: ...

CC: Do you mean Tom, Dick, and Harry? Who the f* are Mary, Beth, and Joseph?

JW: Yeah, I don't know where they came from.