A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

in America have had authority handed to them . They have had to earn it . ''

 As a nurse , Carol Ann Friedman thought she knew what to expect during her own 

postpartum recovery : If she had a Cesarean section , she would need eight weeks

 to heal . If she had a vaginal birth , six weeks . By then , she figured , her 

life would be back to normal . She would be rested , ready to return to work , a

djusted to her baby , with the household running smoothly . Right ? Wrong . `` I

t took me much longer than eight weeks , '' she recalls . `` I felt better about

 the eighth month . '' Having spent her career nurturing others back to health ,

 the irony of the situation didn't escape Friedman , a certified lactation consu

ltant in Pasadena , Calif. . The vast majority of women would categorize having 

a baby as a joyous event , full of rewards and moments of sheer delight . But wh

en the tears flow , it 's often because society 's benchmark for when new mother

s should be recovered six weeks to eight weeks is unrealistic for many . `` A jo

ke , '' says one woman , aptly . `` Ridiculous , '' says another . `` It 's almo

st brutal , '' says Friedman . Scientific studies and new mothers themselves att

est to a much longer adjustment period , something akin to a fourth trimester . 

In a study published last year , researchers found that most women need months m

aybe as much as a year to fully recover from childbirth . One month after delive

ry , women still complained of breast problems , fatigue , hemorrhoids , poor ap

petite , constipation , increased sweating , acne , hand numbness or tingling , 

dizziness and hot flashes . Three months after delivery , many of these symptoms

 continue , the study reported , while 40 percent of mothers also reported pain 

during sexual intercourse , as well as respiratory infections and hair loss at t

hree to six months . Even at nine months postpartum , many women said they exper

ienced vaginal discomfort and constipation . And 20 percent reported problems re

lated to sexual function one year after childbirth , says researcher Dwenda K. G

jeringen of the University of Minnesota . Moreover , as many as 10 percent of wo

men suffer postpartum depression in the months following childbirth , other rese

arch has shown . Postpartum depression is a severe mood disorder linked to chang

ing hormones in which stress and fatigue can play a major role . Even without ex

periencing such a serious postpartum illness , `` Recovery from childbirth often

 requires more than the six weeks traditionally allotted , '' Gjeringen says . B

aby is now 2 months old and signs are everywhere that Mother should be up to spe

ed . At six or eight weeks , disability payments usually stop a not-so-subtle hi

nt that a woman should now be ready to return to work . Yet , according to Gjeri

ngen 's study , the postpartum adjustment period is especially hard for women wh

o return to the work force about half of all new mothers soon after childbirth .

 The average working woman takes eight weeks off for childbirth , according to 9

 to 5 , the National Association of Working Women . At six weeks , the last visi

t with the obstetrician takes place . That is when , according to medical textbo

oks , the uterus has returned to its non-reproductive state . Using that as the 

benchmark of recovery , physicians pronounce most of their patients fit and read

y to resume sexual relations . Never mind that the typical patient is still 20 p

ounds overweight , exhausted and sore . There is also a tacit assumption in many

 quarters that the mother should have her baby on some kind of schedule at six w

eeks . After all , when are the in-laws ever wrong ? In truth , the postpartum a

djustment period differs greatly among women , and recovery simply cannot be pre

dicted or planned , experts say . `` A lot of it depends on whether the baby is 

an easy baby or not , '' says Sandy Hill , the owner of a Southern California pa

rent-care service called After the Stork . For example , some babies have health

 problems , develop colic , are hard to feed , sleep fitfully or are ill-tempere

d . `` Women often say , ` What 's wrong with me ? I 'm not adjusting . Why is t

his so hard ? ' But it 's usually because the baby is a difficult baby , '' she 

says . ( Begin optional trim ) Physically , too , recovery varies widely . `` Th

e physical recovery is usually much slower than what people expect , '' says psy

chologist Georgiana G. Rodiger , a mother of five and founder of the Rodiger Cen

ter in Pasadena . `` Childbirth is a much more traumatic especially for a first 

birth than most people care to describe . And one of the worst parts is you don'

t get sleep . That goes on for months . '' Some new mothers also feel pressure t

o lose all their added weight a couple months after childbirth . If a woman is r

eturning to work at six weeks , she 's lucky if her regular clothes even fit , F

riedman says . `` Most of us have body-image issues at that time , '' she says .

 `` But it 's very natural not to have lost the weight at that point . '' ( End 

optional trim ) Postpartum recovery is clearly on the fast track these days , be

ginning from the moment of birth . It is common now for women who have an uncomp

licated vaginal birth to be discharged in one day and women who undergo C-sectio

ns in three days . And , under some insurance policies , childbirth is just a pi

t stop : Women with vaginal births go home in eight to 12 hours . `` These mothe

rs are still in a fog , '' Friedman says . `` I 'm trying to tell them how to ch

ange a diaper and they 're saying ` What ? ' ' ' The trend in early discharge an

d a light-speed postpartum recovery sometimes seems like a backlash to the days 

a generation ago when new mothers spent five to seven days in the hospital and c

ame home to a supportive extended family and a neighborhood full of casserole-be

aring , stay-at-home moms . `` In the old days , the mother was in bed and every

one said , ` Oh , that 's ridiculous this isn't an illness , ' ' ' notes Susan ,

 a Los Angeles woman who asked that her full name not be used . `` Then it becam

e a thing of who can get out the door the quickest . '' New mothers who refuse t

o get with the program are subject to ridicule , says Lola Clark Tirre , a herba

list and mother of three who lives in San Clemente , Calif. . `` I don't think i

t 's respected if a woman says she is going to stay home and bond with her baby 

for several weeks . People think you are kind of kooky . '' Not many women have 

the luxury of staying home and cocooning , says Linda Juergens , director of the

 New York-based National Association of Mothers ' Centers , a network of non-pro

fit discussion groups . `` Certain societies have ways of relieving new mothers 

of duties as she recovers and having a mentoring period with other mothers . In 

our society , we have nothing built in to support a new mother . The extended fa

mily is gone . '' Part of the solution to the cultural crisis facing today 's ne

w moms may be a return to old customs . For example , new moms are increasingly 

joining breast-feeding or parenting organizations , says Friedman , the owner of

 two stores that carry lactation equipment and clothing . At her Mothers with St

yle store in Glendale , Calif. , women meet weekly for support . Women are not o

nly helped individually , but a forum is created for them to air their concerns 

, says Juergens , of the National Assocation of Mothers ' Centers . `` As a nati

onal organization , our hope is to raise the consciousness among people about th

ese issues , '' she says . `` We want to expand the maternal voice and get women

 to feel entitled to make their needs and wants known . ''

 Now that Paula Jones has filed her lawsuit accusing Bill Clinton of sexual hara

ssment , America once again is tossing around the word `` bimbo , '' using it to

 describe Jones in a pejorative way , usually in defense of the president . I ca

n't imagine anyone hasn't heard about the case . Jones contends that when Clinto

n was Arkansas governor and she was on the state payroll , she was brought to me

et him in a hotel room , where he dropped his pants and propositioned her . Jone

s said she refused and left , but that hasn't kept people from referring to her 

as a bimbo , though some people who say they knew her as a `` party girl '' migh

t think the term is apt . So the word bimbo is back , just as it was used to des

cribe Tonya Harding , Gennifer Flowers , or Donna Rice ( remember Gary Hart and 

the good ship `` Monkey Business '' ? ) . For a country that is being accused mo

re and more of embracing attitudes that are politically correct , this kind of l

inguistic behavior strikes me as a serious lapse , and one that isn't positive .

 It seems that the nation has come to accept the term bimbo without considering 

the connotations it has . Perhaps it 's best to define exactly what a bimbo is .

 Webster 's New World Dictionary lists three slang definitions , of which the th

ird is most pertinent to the current usage : `` a sexually promiscuous woman . '

' The second definition `` a silly or stupid person : used especially of a woman

 '' often seems to be implicit when people speak of bimbos , too . After talking

 with people about what they consider the essence of , well , call it bimbosity 

, I think you also need to add that the popular notion of a bimbo involves someo

ne who dresses provocatively , usually in tight , revealing clothing . Nowadays 

, I can't think of anyone who uses the first definition , deemed old slang by th

e dictionary : `` a guy , fellow . '' In fact , the whole notion of a bimbo seem

s to be quite gender-specific . There seems to be no male equivalent . Would you

 , for example , think of Joey Buttafuoco as a male bimbo ? How about Fabio ? Se

e what I mean ? Sure , men have been called hunks , but that term seems pretty p

assive when compared to what we mean when we refer to a woman as a bimbo . Think

 for a moment of the TV commercial that portrays women leering at a bare-chested

 construction worker . The guy , I 'm told , is a hunk . But he 's not dealing i

n sexuality ; he 's just taken off his shirt because he 's perspiring . On the o

ther hand , do you think the women doing the leering are bimbos ? Maybe yes , ma

ybe no , right ? Then there is the term `` stud , '' which certainly carries a s

exual connotation . Yet it isn't the same kind of pejorative that bimbo is . I c

an't imagine any women considering bimbo a positive description , but there are 

plenty of men who would welcome being called a stud . And we better forget about

 the word womanizer , which has such an elite connotation to it you almost pictu

re someone in a pin-striped suit and wing-tips . Think of it this way : JFK was 

a womanizer ; Judith Exner was a bimbo . Note the difference . All of which make

s me wonder exactly how far we have come toward gender equality . The word bimbo

 reinforces the stereotype of a woman using sexuality to promote herself . That 

there is no equivalent male term is significant , but not as important as the fa

ct that we seem willing to use the word bimbo unquestioningly . Women use it , t

oo , including some women who pride themselves on promoting feminist equality . 

That is perhaps the ultimate irony , for it pretty effectively undercuts the not

ion of women being held to the same standards as men , and vice versa . Some of 

the newer feminist writers surely would criticize the notion of women ever being

 bimbos . Among this group , dubbed the `` do-me feminists '' by Esquire magazin

e , are those who believe women finally are acting sexually demanding in much th

e same way men traditionally have . They would find the notion of sexually promi

scuous behavior to be just fine , without any of the negative connotations that 

the word bimbo would conjure up . But society seems ill at ease with the idea of

 a woman who leers at men , dresses to enhance her sexuality , or even enjoys th

e pleasures of the flesh . Hence the continued use of the word bimbo in a way th

at can only be considered demeaning , not only to the woman being labeled , but 

to women in general . Thinking about it that way , we can be certain the double 

standard is alive and well , despite all the efforts by women and men to try to 

level the playing field for both genders . What is perhaps surprising , however 

, is the rancor Jones has stirred through her lawsuit . People across a broad sp

ectrum have come to Clinton 's defense . Even Gennifer Flowers , who claims to h

ave had a longtime affair with Clinton , says Jones ' story doesn't ring true . 

Based on that , Jones might be the only person I can think of who could be accus

ed of giving bimbos a bad name .

 LOS ANGELES When I was a kid , I stole a bag of doughnuts once from a grocery s

tore . They were glazed doughnuts in a brown bag . I did it because we were poor

 and I was hungry , and because it was an exciting thing to do . I hid the dough

nuts inside a jacket and sidled out of the store as casually as I could , but I 

was a clumsy thief and the grocer , a man named Fred Barnes , saw me . He shoute

d `` Hey ! '' and came after me , red-faced and snorting fire , and cornered me 

in an alley about a block away . I made a run at him to try knocking him out of 

the way , but he caught me by the nape of the neck , marched me back to the stor

e and took my name and address . He said he 'd be notifying my parents and juven

ile authorities and I would be catching everyone 's hell in just a few days . Wh

ich brings me to Aldo Vega . He stole a box of cookies from a place called Charl

ie 's Market and also was a clumsy thief . The owner of the market , Michael Kim

 , saw him . Aldo , a 14-year-old , took off . Kim jumped in his car and caught 

him three blocks away . Then he shot him . He did it , Kim said , because the bo

y with Aldo had a knife . No knife was found , but a screwdriver was later recov

ered . He did it , Kim said , because Aldo appeared to be reaching for a weapon 

. There was no weapon , but Aldo admits hiking up his shirt and reaching into hi

s pocket . There was just that damned box of cookies scattered on the sidewalk .

 No criminal charges were filed against Kim because the kid stole cookies , didn

't he , and Kim feared for his life , didn't he ? Cookie thieves are notorious f

or murdering grocers . The case was instantly compared to the killing of 15-year

-old Latasha Harlins in Compton , Calif. , three years ago . She was shot dead b

y grocer Soon Ja Du after the two had struggled over a $ 1.79 bottle of orange j

uice . Du was fined $ 500 and placed on probation . Few killers are granted such

 an easy way out . Aldo didn't die . The bullet fired from Kim 's .38 missed his

 heart . The district attorney 's office announced magnanimously that it would n

ot file shoplifting charges against him . There are similarities between the sho

otings of Latasha and Aldo . Both guns were fired by Korean Americans , though L

atasha was black and Aldo is Latino . Both shootings were set in motion by the t

heft of items worth less than $ 2 . Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti s

aid no charges would be filed against Kim because no prosecutable crime occurred

 . Commentators , defending Kim 's actions , pointed out that 35 Korean American

 owners of small businesses have been shot in L.A. in the past year . He had a r

ight not to become No. 36 . But Chicano activist Armando Sotomayor cut through t

he statistics and legal justification when he stood on the steps of the Criminal

 Courts Building and said , `` You don't shoot a 14-year-old boy over a 49-cent 

box of cookies . '' There are those who see the shooting of a Latino by a Korean

 as a racial incident . I don't . I see it as a metaphor of the time and place i

n which we live , in a society packaged by violence and summarized by clashing r

ights . Aldo Vega had no right to steal from the store . Michael Kim had a right

 to pursue him . Aldo Vega had no right to make a threatening gesture . Michael 

Kim had a right to defend himself . Rights are endlessly debated in a nation tha

t revolves around them . But the debate ends when guns are fired . There are an 

estimated 200 million firearms in private hands in this country , and arguments 

are increasingly terminated , and rights defended , by their use . Homeowners sh

oot at intruders , car owners shoot at thieves , property owners shoot at trespa

ssers .. . and grocery store owners shoot at kids who steal orange juice and coo

kies . No one will ever know whether Kim actually feared for his life or was try

ing , in his way , to teach a lesson . Give him the benefit of the doubt . He wa

s in a state of terror . But I can't help wondering what would have happened to 

me those many years ago had similar conditions existed . Would Fred Barnes have 

armed himself , pursued me and shot me dead when I lunged at him ? I doubt it . 

We were a different world back then , less prone to cause pain and more inclined

 to weigh the value of a human life against the loss of a grocery product . Barn

es took my name , but never turned me in . I lived in fear for weeks that he mig

ht , and the fear stamped its message on my life . The grocer taught a lesson wi

thout a shot being fired . You didn't shoot a kid over a bag of doughnuts back t

hen . Sadly , things have changed . Michael Kim and Aldo Vega , thrust together 

in the context of petty crime and excessive punishment , will symbolize that cha

nge for a long time to come .

 HARTFORD , Conn. . Visitors to the Wadsworth Atheneum in recent years have been

 mystified by the increasingly dark , murky appearance of the `` Crucifixion , '

' a 17th-century masterwork by the great French painter Nicolas Poussin . The wo

rk 's spectral shapes shrouded in gloom had over time unaccountably darkened far

 beyond Poussin 's original , deliberately somber palette . But now , thanks to 

a two-year conservation project , the once ghostly figures have emerged from sha

dowy mists . Viewers can once again see how Poussin , a master storyteller , mad

e his characters the crucified Christ on the cross , the Virgin Mary , Mary Magd

alen , Roman soldiers casting dice for Christ 's garments , a centurion on a rea

ring horse , crucified thieves , a resurrected body dramatically bursting from i

ts rocky grave and other characters in the cast at Calvary play off one another 

like a powerful ensemble on stage . A deeply devout Catholic , Poussin portrayed

 the crucifixion at the moment of Christ 's death , a tumultuous time when , the

 New Testament says , the heavens darkened , graves heaved open and bodies of sa

ints were raised from the dead . The newly restored painting is being displayed 

in a before-and-after exhibition called `` Restoring a French Masterpiece : Pous

sin 's ` Crucifixion . '' ' Installed in the second-floor Connector Gallery , it

 runs through July 31 . Treating the nearly 350-year-old painting much like an i

ll , elderly patient , chief conservator Stephen Kornhauser and conservator Patr

icia Garland first had to diagnose the cause of the baffling darkening effect . 

The two sleuth-like conservators also unearthed evidence revealing what they bel

ieve to be the cause of the painting 's painful surface affliction called `` cup

ping , '' a blistering effect in which paint curls up in cup-like patches . To g

et to the bottom of the enigmatic darkening process , the Atheneum dispatched th

e painting and the two conservators to California to the Getty Conservation Inst

itute , a prestigious scientific/diagnostic clinic for ailing artworks . Probing

 for clues in the painting 's skin and body chemistry , Getty scientists discove

red a suspicious , foreign substance , a resin possibly from a tree of the balsa

m , pine or spruce families lurking in pigment samples . Such resins were most u

nusual for 17th-century paintings . But in the 19th century , the resin copaiva 

balsam was often rubbed onto paintings to lighten a dark surface , Kornhauser sa

ys . Based on the Getty lab 's findings , Garland and Kornhauser theorize that s

ome unknown 19th-century restorer tried to lighten the Poussin 's naturally dark

 surface with copaiva balsam , a common practice of that period , they say . So 

here at last was the villain of the piece , the guilty agent of the painting 's 

darkening malaise . `` It looks great for a while , '' Garland explains of the b

alsam 's initially lightening effect , `` but then it darkens itself , and it ju

st keeps darkening and darkening . '' Before the painting was purchased by the A

theneum in 1935 , other unknown hands had tried to lighten the painting 's origi

nal dark tones by cleaning it with caustic solutions , Garland and Kornhauser sa

y . But that caustic cleaner brought not lighter tones but abrasions to the surf

ace . Last summer the conservators began operating on their patient , attempting

 to restore the splendid old invalid to a condition as close as possible to its 

original state when Poussin painted it for his friend , the French abbot Jacques

 Auguste de Thou , a member of the French Parliament . The restoration process w

as a struggle not only against the natural ravages of aging , but also against e

arlier , abortive attempts in pre-Atheneum days to conserve or brighten the pain

ting that was never meant to be bright . ( Begin optional trim ) First , the con

servators removed coats of discolored varnish and layers of old retouching . The

n , to reconstruct lost areas of paint , they employed a process called `` inpai

nting , '' the exacting task of matching colors with the original pigments and r

e-creating damaged forms by knitting together fragments of the original that rem

ain . As a reference point , the conservators used a 17th-century copy of the wo

rk attributed to Antoine Bouzonnet-Stella , a friend of Poussin and an establish

ed artist of that period . The copy was especially helpful in understanding the 

original 's most damaged areas , the conservators say . Borrowed from a Swiss co