Scallywag and Vagabond

es, the fictional Samantha Jones' favorite New York holiday has come and gone, leaving piles of empty beer bottles and crowds of still-swooning girls in its wake. But what's the appeal of a man in uniform, and why does a simple change of clothes have such an effect on the ladies?

New York's first Fleet Week took place in 1984, and it's been held nearly every year since. It's meant to be a celebration of the aquatic armed services, and celebrate we do. A quick search for 'sailor' or 'fleet week' on the Craigslist personals in the last week results in hundreds of hits, with the large part of them being gay men and a few straight women offering to repay dedicated sailors for their service to our country with some sexy service of their own. Troll the Irish bars around Times Square or the douche-baggy sports bars in Murray Hill and you'll find marauding groups of girls scanning the crowds for dress whites and admirals' caps. How do I know this? I was one of them.