Bert and Myrtle caught each other’s eyes as they absentmindedly ran their fingers over the wares at the beach resort gift shop. Bert fell into a reverie as he imagined a private walk on the beach with the statuesque redhead in the jaunty giant-potato-chip hat. A connoisseur of oversized headgear, Bert longed to present the alluring stranger with the stunning conical striped straw hat currently enjoying her favors—nothing piqued his interest more than a carrot-top in a clown cap. Of course, Myrtle thrilled to the sight of a man in a spotted goldenrod shirt, and the hint of matching tortoiseshell hornrim spectacles in his breast pocket made her light-headed. She found herself terribly distracted by the way he clutched the blue wooden toy to the front of his elastic-waisted plaid shorts, and she wondered dreamily how a toy effigy of Paul Bunyan’s sidekick, Babe the Blue Ox, had ended up on a Mexican beach? So intrigued was she that Myrtle had to steady her trembling hand against her elongated torso, hoping the straw handbag resting against her slim hip set off her figure to good effect. But just then Gunther entered the shop behind her—would he spoil all the fun?

Image by Philip Dormont, late 1950s.