Author's program note. You know Cole Porter, of course. He's one of America's greatest composers and a lyricist of unsurpassed "cool," sophisticated, cosmopolitan, with wit to die for... and an unrivalled skill for finding the mot juste... and making you wish you'd said that first.
Porter (1891-1964) had everything. The pampered darling of one of the nation's great fortunes, he was smart, good looking, with so much charm it should have been illegal; a product of Yale College where he captured all hearts, many of them young, male and surprised they came to love Cole and his indiscretions.
Yes, of course, there were indiscretions; many of them. For, in the time honored tradition, the boy who had everything became the man determined to experience even more.
Such people pushed the envelop as a matter of course; seeing how far they could push; glad there were "don't's" so they had something to do; something they could attempt, subdue, then dismiss -- all with poise, style, savoir faire, never a thread of their bespoke duds askew. They danced on knife point because they could get cut... and made an art form of ensuring they would not be. And Cole Porter, exquisite to his fingertips, made it a point to dance every dance... and make you chagrined and sorrowful you were not dancing with him... no matter what your mother said and the demanding steps required.
"Love for sale."
Since there has been love, back to the Garden of Eden (if not before) love has been rendered in every conceivable way. In 1930, Cole Porter, always remember with calculated daring, threw a sharp light on an aspect of that love. The song was "Love for sale", and it appeared in the deliberately provocative musical "The New Yorkers" where it instantly stunned every Babbitt of the nation... precisely as Porter wanted, planned for, and enjoyed.
The song was banned, denounced, pulled off every radio station in the land. Thereby, predictably, becoming the hottest thing in the Great Republic and a rocket thrust to the young Cole and his burgeoning reputation...
"Love for sale appetizing young love for sale love that's fresh and still unspoiled love that's only slightly soiled love for sale."
And, worst of all, it was sublime to dance.
It was a card-carrying way to prove that you, too, were a sophisticate of the purest water... which is why an avalanche of greatly talented artists rushed to embrace it... Libby Holman, Eartha Kitt, Mel Torme, Dinah Washington... but my personal favorite is Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians with its perfect period pitch. Go now to any search engine to pick your favorite. Put your dancing shoes on and listen. The sound is as smooth as chocolate... and you are enjoying the unrivalled thrill of scandal...
Which brings us to the utterly nondescript and forgettable city of Malden, Massachusetts, a city where nothing ever happens, even by accident. Until just the other day when the citizens of this Anytown, USA woke up to the fact that Kevin F. Hogan and his now celebrated body not only lived in Malden... but occupied a position of importance and responsibility within its precincts. And so delicious scandal came to Malden...
Daytime Mr. Hogan, nighttime beef cake Kevin.
By day, Kevin Hogan was the newly appointed head of the English department at the Malden charter school... charged with the thankless, sisyphean task of stuffing "Romeo and Juliet" into the most obdurate and unwelcoming of minds. No doubt like most such teachers, Hogan knew moments when the high calling of his office seemed the greatest travail on earth. As for the money... Well, suffice it to say like many many of his pedagogical colleagues, he needed more and took on extra work to get it. And, as the Bard of Avon says, there's the rub...
Where his academical brethren took jobs as bar tenders and wait persons, Hogan went a different route, turning what God gave him into eye-catching images, imaginative contortions, beguiling glances in unlikely positions and, of course, useful coin of the realm. Not to put too fine a point on it, Kevin and his six-pack were eye-candy in one of the greatest growth industries of the Great Republic... pornography... and by all accounts (for I admit I have not scrutinized his purportedly great talent at close quarters) one who excelled.
Gotcha!
Then one of the well-meaning legion of busy bodies, prodigious in their numbers and armed with only the highest motives, saw Kevin in all his lusty glory... and called, who else?, Fox 25 news report. And because Fox prides itself on its self-appointed status as Cerberus of the Great Republic, bully pulpit at the ready, All Hell Broke Lose... for, mind, journalists, without peccadilloes themselves, are assiduous at finding and denouncing those of everyone else.
And so a great debate opened in Malden...
The first necessity was to remove the offending body, and so Kevin Hogan was removed from his position (albeit his salary continued), never mind he'd been charged with nothing, whilst every City Father and Mother vented... the better to cover themselves, which is what every one of them wished Kevin had done in the first place.
Never mind that jurisdiction in the matter rested in the first particular with the Mystic Valley educational authorities... everyone HAD to have an opinion... and I can tell you not one complimented Hogan on his camera-loving physique. All zoned in on whether this licensed teacher since 1988 had done anything untoward, off color, or illegal with his current students, or any students are schools of his previous employ. No doubt Fox News dug with a will but has, to date, found nothing, not a scrap, a scintilla, a shred.That, of course, has not been reported. If it had, there would have been good grounds and proper for his instant removal.
But that is not the situation.
Kevin Hogan is charged with being an independent contractor in a legitimate industry, a booming growth industry at that, an industry which hires people who (we trust) pay taxes on their emoluments...creating jobs in firms which also pay their taxes. We might like the extra employment he selected... we might not like with whom he does it... or how he does it... but we need ask ourselves only this: not whether what he does is "immoral" (for that is for clerics to determine) but whether it is legal, fully, completely. So long as Kevin and his beefcake operate within those laws, Mr. Hogan must be reinstated, and at once.
But I do offer, in humility, one three-letter word to help clarify this situation and squeeze profit from it. No, not that three-letter word, but TAX. We tax other "sins" like tobacco and moonshine. Let's tax this, too. It'll make you feel so much better knowing Kevin's great talent is helping the community so.
"who will buy who would like to sample my supply who's prepared to pay the price for a trip to paradise love for sale."
State and federal taxes extra.
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About the Author
Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Services include home business training, affiliate marketing training, earn-at-home programs, traffic tools, advertising, webcasting, hosting, design, WordPress Blogs and more. Find out why Worldprofit is considered the # 1 online Home Business Training program by getting a free Associate Membership today. Republished with author's permission by Ruthsella Corasol http://WorkingAtHome101.com.
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