Pantyhose

It's one of those wretched moments almost every woman experiences: You notice a snag in your pantyhose moments before a job interview or business meeting.You grimace. You start tugging at the hemline to cover the torn nylon. And you consider the options. Should you take them off? Should you ignore the tear and act surprised when someone points it out?Soon, you may be able to go into the women's restroom, plug $2 worth of quarters into a machine and buy a pair.In the last seven months, six such vending machines that dispense packages of pantyhose -- Lycra or ultra sheer in various colors and sizes -- have been mounted on the walls of women's restrooms in a church and two office buildings in the Baltimore area.

In talking about women and business, it is inevitable that we address questions of appearance in the workplace. While men may believe they have issues with the move to more casual dress codes - tie or no tie, blazer or suit - I doubt they consider these "dilemmas. " But many women stand before the mirror in the morning wondering if their outfit hits the right notes. I do. Most of the women I work with do too. But how often do we think about what it really means? Women traditionally have taken any mention of clothes and hair at the office as demeaning, a way to diminish our importance, to take the focus off the substance of our work.

The reporting of this item might make me an accomplice to the blatant attempt of two Baltimore-area women to get booked on the next "Geraldo!" or "Oprah." If that's the case, so be it. At least I knew -- or suspected -- I was being used for this purpose. See, what happens is, all those TV talk shows have little pixie producers who read through newspapers, looking for strange phenomena, such as "Women Against Pantyhose," which isn't the name but the raison d'etre of the organization I'm mentioning today (it's actual name is "Women Opposed to Restrictive Nonsense," or WORN)

Suzana Pesa was disgusted by the images of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that she saw on television. She jumped on the Internet and was soon linked to a Facebook effort to gather hair clippings from local salons to make hair booms to soak up the waves of black, greasy gook. "When it happened, I was really upset," said Pesa, a dental assistant living in Mount Vernon. "I was looking for anything I could do to help. " In two weeks, Pesa gathered two garbage bags filled with hair clippings from 10 salons in Baltimore.

DIETARY recommendations issued last week by the federal government declared that a little wine with dinner is not such a bad thing, that some meats should be consumed only in moderation and that even modest weight gains with age are not healthy.These recommendations surprised a great many, who have found the federal guidelines in the past to be wishy-washy and covered with the fingerprints of various agricultural lobbyists. Equally surprising, however, was the fact that nowhere in the new guidelines was it recommended that we consume miles of spaghetti on plates the size of garbage-can lids.

An attorney for a 33-year-old man accused of raping an Ellicott City woman almost two years ago portrayed his client as a victim of mistaken identity as his trial opened yesterday.Michael Devon Armstead, a former railroad worker, is on trial in Howard County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense, burglary and robbery in the Jan. 29, 1991, attack of a Waverly Woods Drive resident.If convicted, he could receive a maximum life sentence. He is currently serving five life sentences for rapes in Anne Arundel County.

The woman who accused William Kennedy Smith of rape allowed herself to be identified on ABC-TV's "Primetime Live" in an interview with Diane Sawyer.In America, in 1991, this is called prime-time entertainment. At times, it was embarrassing to watch. The question is: Who's to blame.We can talk all kinds of high-minded journalistic talk about victims' rights and privacy, but last night on television it was not about that. It was about titillation, psycho-drama, the television news industry's preposterous sense of self-importance and even further blurring of the notions of public and private.

I live near a national park and walk my dogs in the woods. There are ticks everywhere. I stop and pull ticks off myself every few minutes, but I hate to just throw them back in the bushes where they will wait for me the next time I go for a walk. Is there an easy way to kill or dispose of them? Put on insect-repellent-containing DEET before you leave home. Spray shoes and socks, and tuck your trouser legs into your socks. Carry a roll of Scotch tape in your pocket. Whenever you spot a tick, use the tape to trap it. Once it is sealed in tape, it can't escape.

WASHINGTON -- The note says "Pantyhose" and not another word. Steve Carell lifts it off the stage floor, reads it aloud and in a moment knows what to do: Sing operatically about pantyhose.He steps downstage left and opens his mouth wide enough for root canal work: "PANTYHOOOSE."His colleagues in The Second City comedy troupe quickly fall in line as a chorus behind him as the pianist bangs out muscular chords. The pantyhose aria goes several measures before Carell's big closing line: "They fit me very well, and if you don't like the way I look in pantyhose then you can go to hell."

In talking about women and business, it is inevitable that we address questions of appearance in the workplace. While men may believe they have issues with the move to more casual dress codes - tie or no tie, blazer or suit - I doubt they consider these "dilemmas. " But many women stand before the mirror in the morning wondering if their outfit hits the right notes. I do. Most of the women I work with do too. But how often do we think about what it really means? Women traditionally have taken any mention of clothes and hair at the office as demeaning, a way to diminish our importance, to take the focus off the substance of our work.

The stylists say purple is the it winter color. But Baltimore already knows that. As the Ravens inch closer to a spot in the Super Bowl, the city has gone seriously, deliriously plum - and, sorry Milan, this is no fashion statement: It's a pride thing. With the light bulbs, the jerseys, the sweaters and the dog collars, the banners, the flags, the hats and the pantyhose, the face paint, the ties and even (Lord help us) the wigs, Purple Friday, a season-long staple for die-hards, has gone large.

I live near a national park and walk my dogs in the woods. There are ticks everywhere. I stop and pull ticks off myself every few minutes, but I hate to just throw them back in the bushes where they will wait for me the next time I go for a walk. Is there an easy way to kill or dispose of them? Put on insect-repellent-containing DEET before you leave home. Spray shoes and socks, and tuck your trouser legs into your socks. Carry a roll of Scotch tape in your pocket. Whenever you spot a tick, use the tape to trap it. Once it is sealed in tape, it can't escape.

Joe Tomarchio is paying a lot more for tires. Gene Mullinix is paying a lot more for fertilizer. Terry Alexander is paying a lot more for roofing. High energy prices have a hidden cost. Oil and natural gas aren't just fuel for automobiles and furnaces; they are also key ingredients in tens of thousands of everyday items, from plastic to pantyhose, computers to crayons, shaving cream to surgical equipment. And manufacturing anything with petrochemicals is more expensive with both energy sources hovering near record highs.

On a recent sweltering day, Charella Marx donned a smart red dress and matching sandals for work. Sure, it was a mid-week workday, but the thought of squeezing into pantyhose? It didn't even cross her mind. "It's plain hot, and it's just another layer of clothing that you have to put on," Marx, a 55-year-old Edgewater real estate agent, said while shopping at Nordstrom in Annapolis on her lunch break. "Once it gets hot, I don't wear them. Even in air-conditioning it's uncomfortable. I don't see any redeeming social value in pantyhose."

It's one of those wretched moments almost every woman experiences: You notice a snag in your pantyhose moments before a job interview or business meeting.You grimace. You start tugging at the hemline to cover the torn nylon. And you consider the options. Should you take them off? Should you ignore the tear and act surprised when someone points it out?Soon, you may be able to go into the women's restroom, plug $2 worth of quarters into a machine and buy a pair.In the last seven months, six such vending machines that dispense packages of pantyhose -- Lycra or ultra sheer in various colors and sizes -- have been mounted on the walls of women's restrooms in a church and two office buildings in the Baltimore area.

WASHINGTON -- The note says "Pantyhose" and not another word. Steve Carell lifts it off the stage floor, reads it aloud and in a moment knows what to do: Sing operatically about pantyhose.He steps downstage left and opens his mouth wide enough for root canal work: "PANTYHOOOSE."His colleagues in The Second City comedy troupe quickly fall in line as a chorus behind him as the pianist bangs out muscular chords. The pantyhose aria goes several measures before Carell's big closing line: "They fit me very well, and if you don't like the way I look in pantyhose then you can go to hell."

CINCINNATI -- A product that stops runs in pantyhose is among the best new products of the year, while chocolate-flavored salsa is among the biggest duds, according to a study by AcuPoll, a product idea screening company.The annual survey, which looks at more than 500 products, is designed to show which products are the best and worst new products of the year based on initial interest by those surveyed, not by potential for sales or product performance.AcuPoll said most of the products that were given a thumbs up by consumers provided convenience, like DowBrands' Baker's Mate nonstick ovenware line, which quickens cleanup.

The stylists say purple is the it winter color. But Baltimore already knows that. As the Ravens inch closer to a spot in the Super Bowl, the city has gone seriously, deliriously plum - and, sorry Milan, this is no fashion statement: It's a pride thing. With the light bulbs, the jerseys, the sweaters and the dog collars, the banners, the flags, the hats and the pantyhose, the face paint, the ties and even (Lord help us) the wigs, Purple Friday, a season-long staple for die-hards, has gone large.

DIETARY recommendations issued last week by the federal government declared that a little wine with dinner is not such a bad thing, that some meats should be consumed only in moderation and that even modest weight gains with age are not healthy.These recommendations surprised a great many, who have found the federal guidelines in the past to be wishy-washy and covered with the fingerprints of various agricultural lobbyists. Equally surprising, however, was the fact that nowhere in the new guidelines was it recommended that we consume miles of spaghetti on plates the size of garbage-can lids.

Nobody's perfect, not that you could tell it from the images in the fashion magazines. Anyone who has ever watched a model being transformed from a lanky kid to a glamour goddess would know that even these rare lovelies need the services of a dresser, makeup artist, hairstylist and a photographer with the talent to disguise figure flaws. All that for a split-second image frozen in time.The rest of us, who have to get through the day and on with our lives in full view of the world, need more practical help.