Socks

The high sock, once so esteemed that teams were named for it, has largely vanished from view in American baseball - covered, smothered, by what Phillies chairman Bill Giles uncharitably terms "pajama pants. " A handful of players have resisted this assault on American hosiery, this onslaught of the falling cuff. The most notable in Philadelphia, of late, is 6-foot-4 rightfielder Hunter Pence, who joined the team a month ago. Pence is all leg and energy. His high socks are a feast of red as he digs in at the plate, a whirling blur of rojo as he rounds the bases.

City Councilman Thacher Longstreth drops two pair of his trademark argyle socks into a collection box yesterday, kicking off Mellon Bank's shoes-and- socks drive for the Salvation Army. Collection boxes will be in every Mellon Bank office until Feb. 3 as part of the "From Our Hearts to Their Soles" campaign. With Longstreth is army Capt. Frederick Hagglund.

The Sox Lady's Daughter on York Road in Furlong is a factory outlet in the best sense of that often-abused phrase. All the socks sold there are made a few hundred feet down the road in what can best be described as a boutique knitting mill. SL & W Knitting has nine specially designed knitting machines in a building the size of a one-car garage. SL & W stands for Sox Lady and Walt, according to their daughter, Kathleen Barden. Walt Rehm, a knitting-machine mechanic, started producing socks 15 years ago on two machines and his wife, Helen, went from flea market to flea market selling them under the Sox Lady banner.

When it comes to selecting athletic equipment, many people tend to overlook their socks as one of the most important pieces of equipment they own. Yes, socks. "Most people don't realize it, but the sock offers very good protection for the feet," says Wayne Axman, a sports podiatrist from New York. Axman, who is on the medical committee of the U.S. Triathlon Association and regularly competes in the three-sport competition, is amazed at how little attention people pay to the socks they wear.

I've always wanted to pair thigh-high socks with a shift dress and tie it all together with Mary Janes. But no matter how fit my physique gets, my legs are still thick. So, basically, I've been denying myself this little piece of fashion nirvana since I was 12. Maybe I'll have my chance this spring. While longer skirts are definitely the trend of the year, shorter ones are not a faux pas, and this season, when it comes to the sheath, socks will replace opaque tights, leaving more room for skin - and for mistakes, too, if you aren't careful.

To attend the recent Country Music Association TV show on which she was named winner of the Horizon Award for best young talent, Holly Dunn bought some new boots to go with her new outfit. When she started to put them on backstage, however, she realized she'd forgotten to bring socks. Knowing that she soon would be called on to perform her song "Daddy's Hands," she tried wearing the boots without any socks, but found that too painful. So she appealed to her fellow performers in a Grand Ole Opry House dressing room, borrowed a pair of socks from singer K.T. Oslin and was ready to go on stage before the audience in Nashville.

It wasn't his fingerprints that led West Chester police to arrest George H. Boggs this time, it was a black gym bag packed with evidence, including his photo and a six-pack of sweat socks, minus one pair. Boggs, 48, of Allentown, was held for trial yesterday, accused of breaking into R. Evan Schoettle's apartment April 1 and robbing, assaulting and kidnapping him. Schoettle, 29, testified at a preliminary hearing in front of Magisterial District Judge Mark A. Bruno that he did not remember much after he was struck in the head three times with a brick, only that his assailant had white athletic socks covering each hand.

Wall Street follows the Dow Jones average. The Japanese watch the Nikkei. Economists study the Consumer Confidence Index. Commodity traders monitor hog futures. At Strawbridge & Clothier, employees rely on the Christmas Party Sock Indicator (CPSI). Here's how it works: At the Center City store's employee Christmas party, held before the retailer opens for the day, top-ranking Strawbridge family members skip their usual conservative business black socks and deck their feet with socks of green or red. Astute observers of the CPSI can analyze the socks and figure out how the important Christmas selling season has gone.

JACKSON, N.J. - Nestled in the forest in Jackson, just down the road from the local high school, a winding dirt lane led to a large fenced area where about 100 docile alpacas awaited their trip to the barn, a hub of activity this day. It was the annual shearing day at Alma Park Alpacas, during which the alpacas receive their spring haircuts before the warm summer weather sets in. Each alpaca yields between three and five pounds of fiber, which...

We've just solved our problem with white socks. I now wear a brand with a W on the side; Fran wears Brand C. Now we know whose socks are whose. Such are the tiny dilemmas of a lesbian couple that has spent 13 years together. Thirteen years. Actually, the 13th anniversary of when we first met won't be until Dec. 28, but four years ago this month, we got married. So we celebrate our anniversary in August. Gay marriages make a lot of folks squeamish. Some try to salve their unease and maintain alliances with the gay community by saying they support "domestic partnerships" or legal contracts or commitment ceremonies or some other euphemism that they are certain is just like a marriage without having to soil the sacred term.

Question: We have been lucky to have open communication with our boys about sex over the years. Now they are 16 and 17 and have girlfriends. The 16-year-old has opted for "everything but" because that makes him feel safest. The 17-year-old is having sex and wants me to allow his 18-year-old girlfriend to spend the night. I have persuaded them to get on the pill, but I feel like they should be having sex in the backseats of cars like the rest of us had to. (Ha, just a little humor there!

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Resentment lurks near the surface of the conservative political consciousness. Many voters believe (not always without cause) that elite, hipster liberals in academia and the coastal Big Media are sneering at them, their lives, and their beliefs. They see themselves presented as unsophisticated, bigoted, and quite possibly stupid. So Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was tapping into a powerful psychological current when he attacked the news media Thursday at the start of a CNN debate, responding to an ABC News interview with his ex-wife Marianne, in which she said he had demanded an "open marriage" so he could carry on an affair with the woman he subsequently married after divorcing Marianne.

We are entering a new era (cue space-age music) - the age of the sock. That's right, socks in sexy stripes and eye-catching argyles are men's accessory of choice this winter. Ankles never looked so good. "They add a little flavor to my clothes," said Irving D. Smith, a 54-year-old SEPTA police officer who favors multicolored stripes. "I get lots of compliments on them, especially when I sit down. " So natty. The focus on manly footwear this fall comes from the British influence on men's clothing, a combination eclectic/preppy look that favors pants hemmed shorter to show off polished shoes and, well, socks.

The high sock, once so esteemed that teams were named for it, has largely vanished from view in American baseball - covered, smothered, by what Phillies chairman Bill Giles uncharitably terms "pajama pants. " A handful of players have resisted this assault on American hosiery, this onslaught of the falling cuff. The most notable in Philadelphia, of late, is 6-foot-4 rightfielder Hunter Pence, who joined the team a month ago. Pence is all leg and energy. His high socks are a feast of red as he digs in at the plate, a whirling blur of rojo as he rounds the bases.

Blistered and scarred, American sprinter Justin Gatlin arrived in South Korea for the world championships with frostbite on both feet. The 2004 Olympic champion, who last year made his return to competition after serving a 4-year doping ban, said yesterday he got frostbite about 2 weeks ago after going into a cryogenic chamber with wet socks. He didn't lose any toes and will still run in Daegu, but his wounds are not completely healed. "You wake up at 9 o'clock in the morning in Orlando and it's already 90 degrees," said Gatlin, 29, who lives and trains in Florida.

Antonio Bastardo's fleeting anger was displayed Sunday in the form of a wardrobe change. His red socks, always pulled high above his ankles, were hidden. Something had to change after a miserable Saturday, when the ball failed to go where Bastardo wanted it - a foreign concept to the 25-year-old lefty during this banner season. But there he was, asked to close Sunday's 5-3 victory less than 24 hours after imploding in the eighth inning Saturday by allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning.

By Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic The F word used to get you a ticket to detention. Now it's a ticket to fame and fortune. Consider the "children's book for adults" Go the F- to Sleep and Gordon Ramsay's cooking show, The F Word . We have our own F word - three of them, in fact. We're talking about farchadat , farblondzhet , and farmisht - Yiddish adjectives that describe us these days. We're confused, distracted, and forgetful. We're women of a certain age. Need some examples?

DENVER - Ubaldo Jimenez brushed aside Atlanta's powerful bats along with all that trade talk, and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez homered as the Rockies routed the Braves, 12-3, Tuesday night. It was the first win for Colorado in six tries against the Braves this month, and for once Atlanta rookie Freddie Freeman didn't do any damage at the plate. Freeman entered the game 10 for 19 against the Rockies after clubbing five homers and knocking in 10 runs against them. He was hitless in three at-bats against Jimenez, striking out twice.

Reading from a folded piece of paper, her poem not yet quite memorized, a 17-year-old budding poet performed her spoken word piece, "Like I Say I Do. " When she finished, the 30 people at Youth Emergency Service on Tuesday erupted in applause. As the event ended, Shelby Bryant clutched her camera and Amanda James held the microphone, recording for a documentary the recent college graduates are filming as they go to nonprofits on the East Coast this summer and hand out socks. Bryant, 21, a Wake Forest University graduate, said she was grateful to see the show.

JACKSON, N.J. - Nestled in the forest in Jackson, just down the road from the local high school, a winding dirt lane led to a large fenced area where about 100 docile alpacas awaited their trip to the barn, a hub of activity this day. It was the annual shearing day at Alma Park Alpacas, during which the alpacas receive their spring haircuts before the warm summer weather sets in. Each alpaca yields between three and five pounds of fiber, which...