We're not in Kansas anymore

Okay, I avoided using that cliché as a headline for three years, but I decided it was finally time.

From our local newspaper (the English is a little stilted because it's translated from German):

"In the recent hot weather it was only natural for people to cool off in the waters of Lake Zug. Indeed, city councillor Richard Rüegg decided to do the same but was unexpectedly reprimanded by two over-zealous police officers on patrol by the lake shore. 'If you want to bathe here you must remove your trunks,' said one policeman. Indeed, unknowingly, the CVP councillor had entered an area for nudists only.

"Rüegg was also informed that he was in a nature reserve and that bathers in swimming costumes should go to the Brüggli area as the Choller area was reserved for nudists by special regulation."

This just isn't an issue at Minnesota's lakes.

I've talked before about how much more relaxed Europeans are about this kind of thing than Americans. In addition to the lack of concern about the gender of the person who cleans your restroom while you're in it, we recently learned that kids in Lindsey's second-grade class often end up changing together as they get ready for their weekly swimming session. We're monitoring her closely for long-term signs of psychological damage, but so far, she seems to be her usual self (that is to say, she's manipulative, conniving, devious, and utterly indifferent to the fact that she has parents). I think she'll be fine.