Frisky Farmers

Questioning one’s sexual orientation in rural Arkansas in the nineteen fifties was not recommended behavior, especially so for attractive members of the school swim team such as Vinny. A misunderstanding between Vinny and his best friend Ricky had devastating consequences resulting in Vinny’s escape to a distant college in Maine, where another misadventure with a fellow student catapulted Vinny into a deep depression only alleviated by a visit home for the winter holidays. At home he learned the truth about Tom, a handsome recent graduate from law school who had seduced then callously dumped Ricky once Tom obtained his cherry-picking goal. Vinny, although dismayed by Tom’s exploitation of Ricky, was pleased to learn Ricky shared his sexual interests and sought to get together with his former best friend in order to reconcile the relationship with the young man.

Skinny dipping in the pond on Vinny’s family farm was initially the site of the critical error with Ricky, later it was where Vinny became concerned about his body’s attraction to Tom as they skinny dipped, and finally where Vinny hoped to mend the situation with Ricky. His antics at the pond contributed to Vinny’s new designation−the Frisky Farmer.