[Dr. Drib]

Every time I go to Miraflores, a tourist city in Peru, I'm approached by prostitutes. Every single time. This is in the "Pizza Alley" area right across from Parque Kennedy. Some women want a good time and offer themselves, even though they are not street-walkers. Money is never discussed, because I don't let it get to that point. I say, "Gracias, no, senorita," and continue walking.

If I look at a woman too long (and if she's a prostitute), she'll often pursue me - sometimes agressively, albeit nicely. I just wave my hand in dismissal, which is a common way to say "no" to anyone selling anything.

This is my second marriage and I know what it is to THINK about lusting in one's heart, but I would never cheat on my wife.

However, I appreciate looking at a beautiful woman. All of this got me to thinking: What exactly IS cheating? When does one cross the line into having cheated? Is appreciating a beautiful woman (or man, if that is one's predilection) a sign of cheating or some kind of prefigurement to cheating?

Is cheating only the act of having sexual intercourse? I remember, during my years as single man, that a friend of mine told me that she didn't believe engaging in oral sex was cheating. I didn't buy that and don't to this day. But now being in a large city of 8-10 million people, (and I'm just a "good 'ole Southern boy' used to small cities where prostitution never seemed to touch me) has got me to thinking about the IDEA of cheating and what it means and how we define that word.

Do we all have feelings of lust in our hearts, to paraphrase President Carter. Is it wrong to have these feelings? Of course, Lust is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, but what if one has no religious convictions or has difficulty counting?


Don