Swing

I wish that I was the person who, when challenged to a post on this topic, thought first of those lovely midsummer afternoons when, in the shade of the grand old Adirondack pines, my beloved Grandma Eva pushed me gently on the swing, my little bottom solidly on the same wide green-painted board that once long before that even supported the slight weight of my mother, as a child, the chain links quietly creaking, grandma's creaky voice sing-songing the old poem-song "how do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing ever a child can do!"...

But I confess that I am not that person. Because my first association with swing, actually, is not the ephemeral joy of innocent girlhood, but rather Plato's Retreat.

A NYC swinger's club in the 1970s, I first heard it whispered between my parents--"she went to Plato's Retreat!" "No!" "Yes"

I heard it distinctly. Plato's Retreat. And I knew who they were talking about--the beautiful, black-haired bohemian mother of one of the children with whom I sometimes consorted, a churlish little girl who was not a favorite of mine.

But I had no idea what it was. Yet the whispered, hissed, name stuck with me until I was old enough, years later, to find out what it was all about.

Let's just say that her participation in such activities would not have been unexpected, long-haired, wraithlike and seductive, husky-voiced, sexy smoker, I am not surprised to hear that she walked the walk, after hours when her daughter was tucked into bed and the dishes had been washed, the baby sitter arrived safely, the Mary Quant liquid eyeliner applied, the Estee Lauder foundation, wedge-heeled espadrilles tied, shimmery brown rayon wrap dress secured, I'm sure that she and the short, evil husband took a cab so as to emerge from darkness into darkness...

Sometimes I marvel at the subtext of life in 1970s NYC. I was there, a child, you would think I wouldn't have noticed, busy was I with my Barbies and Mr. Potato Head and Choose-Your-Own-Adventures and Mad Libs. But I think now that I felt the unsavory encroaching all around me, a dark smog along the edges of my conscious mind, blotting out the bright childhood sun a bit at a time.

...or so I imagine it.

44 COMMENTS:

Kris said...

Filthy minds think alike! ;)

JUNE 11, 2009 1:04 AM

INNER VOICES said...

i loved loved loved "choose your own adventure" books!!! when we had to write short stories for school and read them aloud i would write a short story with a couple differnt paths and several endings... i usually got in trouble for those... meh... ff-ing school...

JUNE 11, 2009 1:07 AM

Liza said...

Boy, did she leave an impression on you. Happy TT!

JUNE 11, 2009 1:37 AM

Ronda Laveen said...

This is such a slice of 70's pie. I wondered who would do "swinging." I had nearly forgotten about Mary Quant. The sign in your photo is priceless. Couples only no threesomes. No one allowed fully dressed. Yeah, the Pill changed the world.

JUNE 11, 2009 2:57 AM

PI said...

'But I think now that I felt the unsavory encroaching all around me, a dark smog along the edges of my conscious mind, blotting out the bright childhood sun a bit at a time.'
That pretty well describes how I felt in the seventies and I was a mature woman - in years.

JUNE 11, 2009 4:29 AM

nick said...

I'd never heard of Plato's Retreat. The Wikipedia entry is fascinating. I love the description of the clientele: "an assortment of kinky types from the suburbs: dry cleaners and their wives or fat men in toupees with their heavily made-up girlfriends".

Interesting too that it was shut down to avoid discrimination complaints after gay bathhouses were closed in the HIV panic.

You're right, there comes a time when the most innocent child has to come to terms with the less attractive aspects of the surrounding world....

JUNE 11, 2009 4:34 AM

Suzanne said...

Good God. Snap out of it you wacky broad.

XO

JUNE 11, 2009 5:33 AM

Mrsupole said...

Oh the swinging days of yon!!

Funny thing is that during the 70's when hubby was stationed down in Panama, everyone thought we were "swingers" because we were from California. Funny thing is that even to this day I have never met anyone from California who was a swinger. Well hubby and I had swung on swingsets when we were kids, I wonder if that qualifies. Does that make us swingers?

Loved your post. So sorry that unsavory life encroached on you as a child.

The ideals of making this world a better place for our children and to avoid bad things is sorely needed. I do hope somehow children are saved from what you heard. Today children are exposed to such terrible things on TV and the movies. And even at school from other kids. Why? Why? :(

God bless.

JUNE 11, 2009 5:54 AM

Brian Miller said...

good job taking on the avoided topic that many of our minds went to if we would all confess. the pic is amazing...the rules to what many would think were breaking the rules. your final part of the encroaching clouds made me think of Anne Frank, whose birthday would be this month.great post/

JUNE 11, 2009 7:04 AM

Jimmy Bastard said...

Your sultry side surfaces so deliciously with this post. I'd guess that it runs very deeply at times.

JUNE 11, 2009 7:47 AM

savannah said...

some things never leave you just because of the way they were presented or in your case overheard. well written piece, sugar! oxoxo

JUNE 11, 2009 7:57 AM

Leah said...

Kris--indeed they do!

IV--I loved them too--Hedgehog is now obsessed with them, and I couldn't be happier. I love that you made up your own. I can't believe you got in trouble for it! f-ing school, really.

Liza--oh she did. She really did. She just sort of got in my radar or something...

Ronda--the '70s were totally freaky. Much freakier than today, but that's just my opinion. But things were more hidden, and maybe that was better. My mom had Mary Quant makeup, and I would stare at it like it was an illicit object...I loved the packaging, do you remember it?

PI--I still feel that way! I mean, the 1970s is stillencroaching, lol...

JUNE 11, 2009 8:59 AM

Leah said...

nick--it is so interesting, isn't it? I read that entry too, fascinated. It was an especially well-constructed wiki entry, I thought. You know, I'm actually amazed that Plato's Retreat lasted as long as it did...

Boy, NYC has been hosed down since then, but only on the outside. As I've said before, the cracks are showing again...

Suzy--I can't...it's just something in the NYC water...

Mrsupole--I agree, it's also a little horrifying...we protect Hedgehog from so much, we don't even watch or listen to the news when she's around...but I guess at some point, you can't protect them anymore...I've thought about it, and although I was probably exposed to way too much way too early, I've turned out okay if a wee tad cynical and with a dark sense of humor... but then again, I think I'm also pretty tolerant and not too cringy in the face of harsh reality, so maybe it was good for me...

it's a rough world, no doubt about it. Thank you for the comment!

Brian--aha! so your mind went there too? Very reassuring. I love your comment about "rules for breaking rules." So true.

Jimmy!--I hadn't thought of it before, but you're right--my sultry side was most definitely born and nurtured in the seamy '70s of NYC.

savannah--yes, that's true. The whole significant valence of it, the glances my parents exchanged, the emphasis, the vibe. Children have radars; they pick up on these things, and then apparently never forget them!!! A rather alarming thought...

JUNE 11, 2009 9:11 AM

Poetikat said...

Ah ha! Nice twist on swing. (I confess, I could have gone in that direction too, but I had a catharsis to confront.)

MQ liquid liner - I'd love to wear that sometime, just for the Hell of it! Eh?

I find the 70s fascinating. I love your use of the word "subtext". That is SO perfect.

Kat

JUNE 11, 2009 9:19 AM

Tom said...

i knew someone would go here...very nice writing by the way!

JUNE 11, 2009 9:33 AM

The Silver Fox said...

Great memory. I was already an adult when Plato's opened. Never went there.

I wonder if any of the other TT posters will talk about that kind of swinging... and tell of their own experiences.

This ought to wake me up more effectively than my morning coffee...

JUNE 11, 2009 9:37 AM

willow said...

Ah, the '70s. I remember them well.

JUNE 11, 2009 10:13 AM

Wings said...

hahahah - Oh, you aren't the only one who thought that way with "swing", believe me!

Quite an interesting post. Ah, the 70s... :)

JUNE 11, 2009 10:31 AM

Betsy said...

Isn't it interesting that when we are kids and hear our parents whisper something in that tone that we forever remember it and at the time know we have to find out what they are talking about! Interesting take on 'swing'! Happy TT!

JUNE 11, 2009 10:54 AM

The Clever Pup said...

Interesting. I was walking down Queen St. W. and noticed the nice architecture of a building called the Wicked Club. Then I remembered... Oh that's that swingers club. Apparently American swingers come up to use the facilities. Gross! (The swinging, not the Americans)

Where'd you find that sign?

JUNE 11, 2009 1:32 PM

A.Decker said...

Well, I posted the first thing that came to my mind, and didn't think of this possibility...'til now. I feel a dread come over me at your description of the "...blotting out (of) the bright childhood sun..."

Need I say, "unexpected twist" on the theme?

;-)

JUNE 11, 2009 2:27 PM

Dakota Bear said...

Swinging was not limited to the big city, it was common in small New England towns. Unwittingly, I was taken to one of those parties and it didn't take me long to understand what was going on and I was quickly out of there.

JUNE 11, 2009 3:43 PM

Otin said...

I remember mid 70's to mid 80's Manhatten! Anything was ok, there was very little morality! Ah, the good old days lol!

JUNE 11, 2009 5:22 PM

Madame DeFarge said...

The use of 'Plato' offends my little philosopher's heart. Socrates Swings would have sounded better. If only because he was accused of corrupting the youth and the Athenians wouldn't have lied. Or Ockham's Orgies (because one would pare human interaction down to the fewest stages presumably). I'm showing off now. Sorry.

JUNE 11, 2009 5:39 PM

Sandra Leigh said...

I remember the swinging fad, of course, but I don't remember MQ make-up. Was that the stuff Elizabeth Taylor wore in Cleopatra - the Siamese cat look?

JUNE 11, 2009 7:33 PM

Baino said...

God you write well. There's a whole underbelly going on that I'm so not in touch with, not that I mind too much! Great take. My parents had friends that were into it. They tried it on once. She was a very attractive 40 something, he was a squat ugly little dude so it was never going to happen!

JUNE 11, 2009 8:03 PM

Jaime said...

i almost posted about swinging too - but went a totally different direction. i love that sign - it's hysterical

JUNE 11, 2009 8:38 PM

mapstew said...

We were always sent out of the room, or out to play when something'juicy' was being discussed!

JUNE 11, 2009 9:27 PM

merelyme said...

Y.A.F.A.





You are effing amazing. Write your damn book now. Can't you just see it? I'd love to see TT be "Book" and where you take it!

JUNE 11, 2009 9:56 PM

subtorp77 said...

MAD LIBS! YESSSS! Interesting take on the theme, btw ;)

JUNE 12, 2009 7:34 AM

Karen ^..^ said...

I think it was all the disapproving whispers, all the seductive beautiful women that indulged in such activities, all the goings on over children's heads, that ingrained in us a slight kinky side. I flirt with it at times, but have never really given in to it. But the seventies most definitely started and nurtured it. People forget that children are aware of what goes on around them, and their natural curiosity will hear just enough to make their imaginations take over. And what an imagination I had!! I grew up on Staten Island, and even though I never heard of such a place, there were others like it.

The dark, seedy side of life often rears it's horned head early on.

JUNE 12, 2009 10:36 AM

Leah said...

Poetikat--I think your catharsis was important! I wonder if Mary Quant is still in existence. I've never been able to master the fine art of liquid liner, although it goes back literally thousands of years, to the Egyptians and kohl mixed with water...

Tom--someone had to do it! So Kris and I obliged...thanks for the sweet compliment!

Silver Fox--glad I woke you up ; ). I was hoping someone would post a comment about how they were a member at Plato's Retreat! Alas...

Willow--my memories of the '70s are rather hazy, with a few standing out in bas relief!

Wings--it's good to know that I'm not the only one with a perverse streak!!!

Betsy--you are so right; and I'm still trying to figure some of it out!

MJ--I thought of you as I wrote this. And I mean that as a compliment!

Clever Pup--ooh, you've still got swingers' clubs? That's fascinating! I know what you mean though, it kinda grosses me out too. I found the picture just by doing a google search of Plato's Retreat (which will bring up several rawther naughty photos as well). I'm not even sure of the attribution.

A. Decker--sometimes a little dread is just the ticket of a morning, lol!

Dakota Bear--you're right, it definitely went on (probably still does) all over the place, wherever people were feeling bored! That's so funny that you found yourself at one! I guess the element of surprise was not so pleasant in that case...

Otin--I was just at the age to half-understand, but for most of it to be over my head. But I get it now, all too fully!

JUNE 12, 2009 10:58 AM

Leah said...

Mme.--I like your ideas! Especially O's Orgies. Hilarious. I'm still trying to figure out why it was called Plato's Retreat in the first place...I do think they might have been a bit off on their full understanding of philosophy...

Sandra Leigh--you've perfectly pegged the Mary Quant liquid eyeliner look! Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra. Totally.

Baino--thank you so much! And yes, it's probably much much better to not be in touch with this side of life! Although I guess it depends upon one's perspective...

Jaime--the sign is great, isn't it? I swear, if I didn't have a kid I would post it in my house!

mapstew--I think that sending the kids away is the sensible idea! You can see what happens when they're not sent away--they store it all up for later!

merelyme--you are such a wonderful boost to my compromised ego! thank you and thank you again. Because of this comment--I read it last night--I went off and worked for several hours on my book, and wrote 20 pages and had a total breakthrough! I kid you not. You are awesome.

sub--the great thing is that Madlibs and Choose Your Own Adventure have made their way back into our house with my daughter! I am thrilled, I can tell you.

Karen--you know just what I'm getting at here! It's very interesting for me to examine just how the whole vibe of the 70s has informed my adult sexuality. I realize now that I can't dismiss the impact of the sociology of that era. Fascinating, isn't it?

JUNE 12, 2009 11:19 AM

Old Knudsen said...

The last time I was there they renamed it Plato's Retreat 2 The Slammer but after 4 years in a Gulag I wasn't in the mood to get slammed again.

JUNE 12, 2009 1:57 PM

Maria said...

Oh, man. I actually read this post twice, just to savor the sunshine being taken over by the oily clouds.

You have a lovely, sneaky way of writing. It sort of climbs up on you like a vine and then you are caught.

JUNE 13, 2009 11:52 AM

Maria said...

Hey, I forgot to thank you for the wonderful insights into Brooklyn restaurants...

So, far..we have tickets to go to David Letterman and tickets to see Our Town in Greenwich Village. So much for not wanting to be touristy....

Our hotel is in what my friends calls "the financial district"...(I am just so confused by all these boroughs and districts) and she assures me that we can get cheap transportation anywhere...that NY is actually pretty small...

I dunno, Leah....that map looks pretty big to me. Any more tips?

JUNE 13, 2009 12:01 PM

books,coffee,etc.... said...

Hi! Leah,
Oh! like the way your post started out discussing an innocence child on a "swing"...only to segue into discussing a "place" where adults whispered, hissed and talked about in low voices.
Leah, Thanks, for sharing!
DeeDee ;-D

"I'm sure that she and the short, evil husband took a cab so as to emerge from darkness into darkness..."
LOL!!!!

JUNE 14, 2009 12:53 AM

Megan said...

Oh my. I want some wedge-heeled espadrilles and a rayon wrap dress!

JUNE 14, 2009 1:59 AM

lettuce said...

wow, what a great post and memory and unknown story...

excellent step back into time

JUNE 14, 2009 3:33 AM

lettuce said...

hope you don't mind if I shamelessly promote my latest blog post? which is shamelessly promoting a new charity project - please read it and if you feel able help advertise (or contribute in any other way) that would be FAB

JUNE 14, 2009 3:33 AM

Candie Bracci said...

Great post Leah!

JUNE 14, 2009 5:43 AM

Emerson Marks said...

So you didn't get yourself over to studio 54 back in the day? Is it still open?

JUNE 14, 2009 3:54 PM

Leah said...

Old Knudsen--I just knew I had seen you there...

Maria--coming as it does from a writer as good as you are, I just like totally dig that compliment!

I think it's good to be touristy when you come to NYC! I do it myself sometimes, and it's always fun.

As for that map, your friends are right--NYC is not as big as it seems--you can get everywhere quickly on public transportation, or by walking if the weather is nice, especially from that downtown area--two dollar subway rides to literally everywhere are the best thing about it!

Let me think about your question though--maybe I will come up with some more insight.

Books--I'm glad you liked the segue! It was fun to write.

Megan--don't you though? It's like my dream outfit. I'm not sure whether I could pull it off though...

lettuce--I will be happy to promote your awesome project, and to come over and bid myself and maybe even contribute! It's a great idea.

Candie--hi and nice to see you!

Emerson--I SO wish I had! It's not open though, hasn't been for years, I don't think...

JUNE 14, 2009 11:22 PM

reyjr said...

So what is this Plato's Retreat? I don't want to search it on the net... haha!