Chapter 17

That evening I was at Miss Krystal's home with Harmony and First Sergeant Wexford. It was just the four of us. Harmony and I were naked. Miss Krystal wore a pants suit. First Sergeant Wexford was still in uniform. Fish and raw vegetables for dinner, with juice and whole grain bread. Conversation: dinner was mostly conversation.

"Scott," Miss Krystal observed, "you've said nothing."

"Ma'am, I have nothing constructive to add," I replied. It was a lie—I had said things like pass the bread—but I had not contributed to the conversation. "I lack the education, the experience. What can I add?"

"Say something," Miss Krystal commanded. "Stupid, profane, profound, just say something."

"We had this discussion before, Miss Krystal," I objected. "That was three months ago. I'm still learning."

"So what have you learned?" Miss Krystal was putting me on the spot in the Mackie tradition—as General Patton said, doing something right now, even if not well planned, was better than waiting until the plan was perfected. "Say something."

"Question, First Sergeant," I posited. "What will girl cadets at the Corporal John Freeman Mackie Military School for Boys lead to? What's the end game? In chess, the end game is checkmate. What do you want to accomplish?"

In the shocked silence I mentally reviewed history. The big boy service academies already take female cadets. That's good because academy graduates are more likely to gain flag rank. The big name colleges used to be male only—now the students and teachers are mostly women. The all-women colleges haven't been forced to go co-ed. The reason was obvious--to open up opportunities previously denied to women.

"The Army disbanded its Women's Army Corps two years ago," First Sergeant Wexford said. "The 'separate but equal' wasn't equal. Now women can apply for Army jobs in direct competition with men. That's important because last year two girls were born for every boy. Women will be the majority of the Army, just as they are becoming the majority of college students and teachers."

"Commandant Mackie predicts that he will have to close his doors in as little as ten years," I admitted. "Congress may force Mackie to take girls soon, anyway. There is still a market for an all-boys environment. There will always be a market for an all-girls environment. I'd hate to think that the only reason for girls to invade Mackie is to take over the boys' tree house and evict the current tenants permanently. Refusing college admission to equally-qualified males won't be any better than the old ban on women in colleges."

"That may be, Cadet Thistle," the first sergeant reminded me of our relative status, "but women will be the majority in the Army in two decades. Either the Army will have to open up all jobs to women or it will be a lot smaller than today."

"What about uniforms?" Harmony asked. "Miss Krystal is having me and Scott cross dress. I have a couple of Mackie cadet uniforms. This weekend Scott will learn to wear dresses."

Sounded like someone was going to overdo the clothing thing. I could guess his name: Scott Land Thistle.

"Is it possible to volunteer for permanent nudity?" I asked.

"The Naked in School Program is designed to promote permanent nudity," Miss Krystal said, "but not in school. Besides, I was told about how you caught a chill this morning."

"Yes ma'am," I admitted. "The dogs didn't like the cold either, and they have permanent fur coats."

"That brings up a question," First Sergeant Wexford said. "Why are you forcing women to be naked? At first, The Program was only for females in college—and then high school."

"Because women are imprisoned in their impractical garments," I knew a little history that Miss Krystal related. The long skirts. Girdles. Petty coats. Bras. All designed to hide the woman's shape. Women as recently as the Sixties had just one butt, not a pair of buttocks. They had monoboobs, not two breasts. I wasn't sure if the high heels were to reduce the height differences between male and female or to make the woman's legs more slender and their feet appear smaller. Hard to tell when the legs were mostly covered. But then the Sixties hit with the mini skirt, go-go boots, and bikini. It was the Twenties all over again—plus eleven (whatever that means). "Today, women are free to be naked everywhere. Naked also means that women are in control of their sex. In the future girls will grow up naked most of the time. Mothers will be naked. Even us old hags will enjoy our liberty."

"I didn't like having my head shaved," Harmony admitted. "When Scott first saw my bald head, I thought that he had been hanging out in the kennels too long. He was angry enough to bite."

"You mentioned that 'separate but equal' wasn't equal," Miss Krystal said. "Kelly, consider going nude for a month. Shave your head, too. I'm shaving mine this summer. Male hair can grow as long as female hair, but in the 20th Century, except for the Sixties and Seventies, short hair has been masculine—and short hair was a mark of freedom. Remember the bob and the flip of the Flapper Era?"

"Bald and naked for freedom, eh?" the first sergeant mused. "When I was a little girl, I used to run around in the buff. Then I had to wear at least panties, and when my breasts started showing I had to wear a top. Both brothers were naked around the house because boys didn't need to be modest. They swam naked at the public pool. Scout camp—I heard stories. When the boys would dress up like Indians, their loin cloths were usually just a pair of flaps. Real loin cloths are one piece that covers the genitals. Often, their butts would be bare and the boys would only have a small rectangle of cloth in the front. Jock straps were considered to be a full gym uniform. I didn't forget that the boys would have their heads shaved for summer."