“I see London, I see France,

I see Susie’s underpants!”

My oh my, just the first three words struck fear into the hearts of little girls everywhere.  It meant torture was forthcoming, usually at the hands of a couple of little boys singing this delightful rhyme.

It’s been passed down through the years, older to younger sibling, until generations of kids know how to dissolve a girl into tears simply by chanting about their panties.  Their panties, for Pete’s sake.

Is this a uniquely American experience?  Are we the only ones who watch our kids play their own version of Lord of the Flies on the monkey bars after lunch?  And dammit, why do girls fall to pieces over their underpants??

Maybe it’s because it feels like a public shaming, though – less about the panties, more about the cluster of kiddos pointing and laughing as they sang.  Which, if I weren’t tired, might lead me into a discussion about objectifying women and body shaming and the issue with dress codes today…

But I am tired, so we’ll have to leave it at London and France.

Linda’s weekly SoCS prompt lights a good fire under those creative writing muscles.  This week the prompt is “pant.”