Nylons

When Jackie Kennedy was the 'First Lady' (she hated that term - said it sounded like the name of a horse), I was in university. I grew up in Florida and went to school in Kentucky. I did not like wearing hose/stockings/nylons. A picture appeared in the news of Jackie wearing a summer dress and sandals, and no nylons. It was scandalous! I just loved it that she would do that. I so admired her sense of herself and independent streak. In the early 1960s this was rare for a woman, especially a 'First Lady.'

Now it is 45 or so years later, and the nylon issue has hit the news again. Barbara Walters on The View talked about how she didn't like wearing pantyhose. The day Michelle Obama was a guest on the show (June 2008), Barbara said that she wore pantyhose that day to be sure she was properly dressed for the guest, only to discover that Michelle wasn't wearing pantyhose, and in fact didn't like wearing them either.

I was very excited about John Kennedy running for President and got up early one morning to stand in front of a stage waiting for him to arrive to speak. His campaign is what turned me on to politics. I actually took a university course where the main book was The Making of a President 1960 -- fascinating. I think someone must be writing The Making of a President 2008 because Obamas campaign is just as groundbreaking.

So, to have Michelle Obama be a kindred spirit about pantyhose is serendipity or something like that. She has the style and flare of a Jackie Kennedy and I'm sure will also be a model for other women to follow and admire.

Took many years, but for the first time in a very long time I don't feel like I have to hide the fact that I was born an American. With Obama, the country has a chance to make a comeback in the world and live up to the potential that the world expects of it.