Evening star., 1949-07-29
This and That
Bu Charles E. Trace1DeU

How do you keep so cool?" we asked.
Templeton Jones, neat and affable as al
ways, smiled completely.
Not all people smile completely. Some
hold back part of their smile. Others curl
merely the corners of the mouth. Some
content themselves with crinkling the cor
ners of the eyes.
Not so Jones.
When he smiles he smiles all the way.
Keeping COOL" he pontificated. lis partly
Of the mind. But mostly of the skin.
You see. I advocate as few clothes as
possible
That Is the reason I approve of the hat
less brigade. Today this has extended so
far that the hat manufacturers have be-
come alarmed. They are trying to do some
thing about it. But they might as well
save their ammunition.
mo one pays the slightest attention to
them. 1t does no good to say that no man
is dressed unless he wears hat He simply
doesn't wear a hat. in summertime.
THE old bold rascals with their straw hats
slanted over their eyes have given way to
the hair tonic brigade"
But. Templeton," We demonstrated "the
head is just part of person. How can
one go without clothes in public?"
Jones grinned again.
The ladies show you, more or less. They
are sensible. Men are learning, though
Today some of them dare to 60 without
coat in Washington. Think of the enormty
of that!
In the old days, no Washingtonian would
be caught on the street without coat and
hat. Today all go hatless, and a few coat
less. The time will come when no one here
will wear coat in summer. That will mean
that all meh will have to think of their
girths. Women have done that for years.
but men somehow managed to cling to the
belief that a trim stomach made no differ
ence. 1t makes a great deal, when one is
coatleSs"
Templeton Jones glanced down at his own
fiat tummy.
But you,' we insisted, wear a coat
Jones looked a trif1e-just q. trife-dis-
comf1ted.
Sometimes he admitted, "one must 1t
is the thing to do. We are all still in thrall
to the ancient days Even the bright boys
have not yet been able to sneer them all
away. That may come.
You know" went on Jones. with enthu-
siasm, "as I grow older. I am coming to
understand what old Louis XIV meant when
he said, After me the deluge.'
1T has been fashionable to mock the old
fellow. as if he was terribly irresponsible,
with no thought of the future.
Actually, all he said, in that famous
phrase. was just a plain statement of fact.
The 'deluge' as he put it, did come.
THE King was simply looking into the
future"
His costume we prodded, must have
been pretty hot
Templeton Jones laughed.
IF those old boys. in their tight collars
and wigs, were hot, they never let on, Nor
did they ever have their portraits painted in
summer. evidently.
Especially" we suggested, "in Wash
ington summer"
MY plan," went on Jones, "is to go with
out clothes. That is the complete air-cool-
ing. And. to that extent, the nudists are
right.
THAT really was natures plan The closer
one comes to it, in summer, the better It
is not feasible to be in air-cooled rooms all
the time It tends to make one sneeze
THE better thing to do is to eat lightly,
dress sanely and avoid" quick motions. And,
where possible wear little if any clothing
THE habit of sleeping. at least, in the
raw has much to commend it. Iced drinks?
Sure! We wouldn't be Americans if we
didn't drink iced drinks. But let us remem-
ber they all have sugar in them, as much
as 4 or teaspoonfuls to glass. sometimes.
You can't keep slim, or even cool, that way"
What is your final prescription" we
asked.
MY final prescription" grinned Templeton
Jones, "is to wear as little as possible, use
plenty Of water. inside and out. and have
plenty Of towels. To be dry, is to be cool"