Style-ish

August 25, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

There was a brief window of time when I considered myself stylish. I tried to match up to the men on TV although I could never muster that perfect quaff of hair. No matter how much product promising ultimate waves I used, my hair just lay there disappointingly flat. But clothes – well, I can buy clothes.

Somewhere along the line though, one’s cheapness intersects with the price of the fashion icon he is trying to emulate. When I was young and carefree my intersection point had a higher limit. Then I got married, had children, and was forced to adopt a budget. Even at my highest level, I never had a Ralph Lauren goal. He is too far up the scale. I aspired to reach that Samuel L. Jackson “look good in anything” vibe but settled in somewhere around Jerry Lewis.

Now I flat out don’t care. If I like it and the price is right, I buy it. I don’t believe in recreational shopping. I have to need something before I shop. Seven work shirts worn in the proper order are enough because no one remembers what you wore a week and a half ago. My eye for matching clothes died along with my hearing.

I also think my love of tie-dye lead to the demise of my ability to tell what goes with what. At some point, that random mix of colors flows off the shirts and into every fashion decision. Now tie-dye is more of a style philosophy than just a hippie shirt I own. I have become style-ish instead of stylish.

My oldest daughter gave me sage fashion advice before she left for school:

Dad, if you think it is a good idea, then don’t.

Divorcing My Friends

August 17, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

My family has always loved going to the zoo. When the kids were young, we would break up long drives by leaving early, routing to a zoo somewhere in the midpoint of the trip, and then wearing them out watching animals so they would sleep for the remainder of the drive. It always seemed to work. The only problem with this practice was that our trips were usually in the summer and the afternoon car always had a rather pungent odor after we toddled around in the sun.

There were trips when we took more pictures and videos at the amusement stops than we actually did when we arrived at our destination because the kids love animals so much. One often sees odd behavior and sometimes a dalliance or two that must be explained to an inquisitive child. Of course, I relished these opportunities and gave it my creative best. From me they learned the finer points of turtle wrestling and why an elephant can have two trunks.

Once in a while, a golden moment happens and you notice that your child is sitting in front of something that is fairly comical. SNAP – picture that! Read More