Billboards

Day 3 of the memoir prompt can be found here.


I grew up near Los Angeles, and crazy billboards, advertising all kinds of things, were very familiar to me.  There was a certain part of the drive to my grandparents house that had billboards advertising strip clubs.  I think I remember that because we drove past them so often.  But then a new freeway opened, and no more strip club billboards.

When I got to France, as a missionary, the billboards were pretty surprising.  They had these nifty ones that would shift every thirty seconds or so, to advertise something new.  But there was this one.  Right down the road from our apartment.  We would have to ride our bikes past it at least once daily, if we were headed to centreville.  It was a picture of a beautiful man. Oh so beautiful.  He was shiny, not a bit of hair was visible anywhere.  Not on his chest, or arms, or head, or face.  And the picture went down as far as it could without showing everything.  I remember the cut of his hips, and the outline of his muscles.  I have no idea what it was advertising.  Maybe cologne??  All I know, it was right by the closest bridge that went across the Loire river.  And I told myself I could only look once.  That was it.  And then I would have to focus on something else.  I don't recall if it ever changed the entire 6 months that I lived in that apartment.  My companion and I would occasionally talk about it.  Like 'did you see that???' and then talk about how beautiful that man was.  But we would remember we were missionaries, and that while it's human to look,and perfectly find to appreciate an amazing body, we weren't here to talk about that all the time.  So, I just kept giving myself that one look.  Every time we passed by.