"It's been great growing up right next door to New York City," says 19-year-old Linda Forsythe, "because Manhattan is the most exciting place to be; it's ideal for single people. But you couldn't give me enough money to live there the rest of my life; I'm too spoiled by the quietness--and cleanness--of home." Hailing from Weehawken, New Jersey, this American beauty describes herself as a home-grown product of the Garden State. "But I'm no flower child," she points out, "and I have little sympathy for the hippies and none for the revolutionaries. Sure, my generation is dissatisfied; and we're more aware, perhaps, than our parents were at our age. But those in a position to change the course of this country are more likely to listen to a well-reasoned approach from young people who aren't wrecking property or tying up traffic and campuses with protests that often turn out to be violent. The kids making all this noise are children, and if the world gets into their hands now, they'll destroy it. Drastic changes--if they're to be constructive--take time; it can't happen all at once. I'm not always happy with the status quo, but I'm not about to drop out or start marching in the streets. I'm still a kid, too, and I have too much to learn." Linda believes in working to change the system from within and--practicing what she preaches--will use her Playmate fee to further her career ambition to be a social worker. When we talked with her, she was preparing to leave the family homestead and move to Manhattan. "The courses I need," she told us, "are available at New York University, which has an excellent graduate school in this field. I feel very strongly about doing social work, especially with children. Even though I hope to have my own someday, I'd like to adopt a child, too. There are so many kids who have no one; this world's going to be in their hands, eventually, and it's up to us to help them. Meantime, I'm going to work and study--and play. So many people don't seem to know how to enjoy life. Maybe I don't, either, but I'm sure having all kinds of fun trying."
