‘Scanty Uniforms’ Lawsuit

I certainly want to wish the five-year waitress well in her $14-million claim against the restaurant chain that forced her to work in a sexually provocative outfit. According to the plaintiff, she decided to sue after her breast had been touched for the hundredth time.

The lawsuit--one of many nationwide--is timely. In 1955 the United States began its downturn from a goods-producing society to a services society, and it is now time to close out the service industries so that we can direct ourselves to leisure as a full-time pursuit properly befitting a truly civilized people.

I do want to say this, however, about touching the breasts of waitresses in skimpy outfits. A quarter-century ago, when, as a vital part of my education, I was out there trying to get myself exposed to as many scantily clad waitresses as possible, touching was a no-no; and any waitress who let herself be touched was considered a “pretty dumb broad”--to use the street vernacular of the time.

But a lot of things have changed in this litigious world of ours. For what it is worth, my advice is: stay home.

DOUGLAS A. KERMODE

Long Beach