The Times Meets Desperate Housewives

I love the Times and spend far too much time each day surveying its offerings. That said, the recent article entitled "The Allure of the Tool Belt" is incredibly poor. Insipid, confusingly structured and written, and almost totally devoid of news or even "lifestyle" content - except to inform us that bored housewives in the Hamptons like bonking their contractors.

With the warm weather, which marks the peak of renovation season, come the contractors in their tool belts, which, for many a client, carry a romantic charge. (Men who don’t get it might want to consider the garter belt.) They invade still-occupied houses, taking charge of renovation projects and spending several weeks in close proximity with their owners. Often, even today, it is the woman of the house who is home all day long; in summer resort areas like the Hamptons, she is sometimes there alone with the children from Monday to Friday. Who can blame her for harboring dreams of the contractor?

An all-time low.