"Fried Fridays: Kiss THIS.....!"

"Why don't you kiss,

Kiss this!

And I don't mean on

My rosy red lips...!"

- Aaron Tippin

Older country song, that one...cute and catchy.  Spring officially comes in this weekend, and with spring comes lightened spirits, new vegetation, and mating songbirds.  Love is in the air, for sure.

It's also in the law books...

DATELINE: DUBAI

Not sure how our society would split in a yes/no poll on PDA.  You know, 'public display of affection.'  Holding hands, kissing, full-fledged making out...it can manifest itself in many ways.

And it's gone on as long as time itself has, I'm pretty sure.  Person A has life-altering chemical reaction to Person B, with a mutually electric return stimulus, and the rest is history.

Dubai is a Shangrila of sorts, a resort-like atmosphere with year-round sunny days and tax-free earnings.  Foreign residents far outnumber native Emiratis, which is not necessarily a problem, save for the austere, conservative Muslim laws that govern the Gulf Arab emirate.

Alcohol is illegal.  Kissing and touching in public is illegal.  Tying your pet Cape Buffalo to a public parking meter is also probably illegal, though I couldn't verify that.  Fact is, the touchy-feely thing might play well in Peoria, but never in Dubai...not in public.

An Emirate mother complained to the police that a young (foreign) couple was kissing and touching each other intimately in public, with the assistance of some alcohol apparently.  What made it worse was that.....get ready, this is a biggee...the mother's child saw it, too.  Scarred for life for witnessing wicked Western ways.

This actually happened in November when the couple was arrested, since then filing legal motions to stave off the anticipated one month of jail time for such a tawdry offense, to be followed with a guaranteed deportation.

The laws in Dubai seem bizarre to us, just like any country's laws that subjugate women or other unconscionable actions.  To think you can spend a month in prison and be deported for doing something so 'tame' boggles the mind.  Fries it, actually.

Guess it goes to prove the old adage of advice:  When in Rome, do as the Romans do. 

Uh, scratch that.  I think there were historical periods when they did a lot more than just kissing publicly, come to think about it...