I SEE LONDON

By David Dillon (2009)

The other day I happened to see a friend of mine naked.

The viewing was purely by accident. She was posing for a life drawing workshop; I opened the door from the outside to let in an artist who was late.

Now, I’m a mature adult. I should be able to deal with this. Were I still 12 years old, I might be awash in giggles. Were I still 22, I might be consumed with lust. But, being 62, I think I’ve been appropriately mature about the whole thing.

But the incident prompted me to think about our local life drawing artists. It occurred to me that, as they render art from the human form, they are privy to what many of our friends and neighbors look like sans clothing.

It’s a heady responsibility dealing with these situations – to have naked people stand in front of you, yet you remain dispassionate. No lurid comments, no lust-driven suggestions. Just respect your model and draw.

I chose to write about this experience only because a great lead sentence begs for a follow-on write-up.

Starting with a line like, “The other day I happened to see a friend of mine naked,” you could go almost anywhere. I couldn’t pass it up. I had to write something – inadequate or insipid, as it may seem.

I was reminded of a grade school playground ditty heard many, many years ago. It went, “I see London. I see France. I see someone’s underpants.” Except, in this case, there were no underpants!

You know? Maybe I am still only 12 years old.