Playboy much more than meets the naked eye

I confess: For more years than I can remember I bought Playboy for the photos, the articles, the interviews, the fiction.

The time came, back in the late '60s and early '70s, when I bought the magazine primarily because I did not want to break the string of Playboys in my collection.

At one point, I had stacks of Playboys that I carried with me to every new address, while I was single and while I was married.

It was a collection I thought might be worth real money someday.

That never happened. I didn't have the first edition, with Marilyn Monroe, and that was the only one that mattered.

Eventually, I grew up and tossed all but a handful of Playboys in the nearest Dumpster. The remainder are in the attic, somewhere.

News this week that Playboy will no longer publish photos of naked women was greeted, here and most everywhere, with a yawn and a second cup of coffee.

The photos have become irrelevant in an Internet world where porn is a keystroke away.

I suppose it had to happen. Hugh Hefner got old and probably no longer cares about sorting through photos of nude women. I know the feeling.

It's always been a joke, I suppose, that most guys read Playboy for the articles. But I can truly say that, while the photos were pretty easy on the eye, I bought the magazine for many reasons.

Its interviews with some of the most interesting or controversial people were always compelling. Playboy introduced me to both Jimmy Carter and Malcolm X.

Its fiction came from some of the world's best writers. I read serialized editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond stories long before Sean Connery showed up on screen. The one I remember was ``Casino Royale,'' but there were others.

Playboy introduced me to writers like Ray Bradbury and William Styron and cartoonists like Shel Silverstein and Jules Feiffer.

Well, that was then, this is now.

I haven't even looked at a Playboy for at least 40 years, maybe more. It wasn't something I wanted laying around the house with children.

I guess I was one of those who helped its circulation drop from 5.6 million at one point to its current 800,000.

Look up passe in the dictionary and there ought to be a photo of Playboy. Or maybe a Bunny.

So it goes.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Playboy much more than meets the naked eye."