Baby, It's Cold Outside

Yesterday, as I was walking home from the metro, coughing, sniffling and crying in turn, my legs numb because I don't own any long underwear, I passed my favorite manikin on the side of the rode. The manikin belongs to a darling little vintage boutique with a newspaper clipping on the wall from the time that the Bush twins were there and one called out to the other, "Sister!" (My sisters now do this if we're in that store, or other stores, for that matter, together.) The manikin is cool--her arms are extended from her side as if she is signaling for men and traffic to stop and pay attention to her. The manikin was dressed in an adorable hot pink sundress, gathered at the waist and gauzy and summery. But this was ultimately a disconcerting sight on such a cold day.