The Old Coot is hip? (sort
of)
By Merlin Lessler
I had on a pair of “I’m not
old jeans” the other night. Out in public! They have skinny legs, actually they
are technically classified as “Slim.” The “skinny” ones fit more like pantyhose.
The legs in mine are wider, but they’re still considered hip. They contain stains,
paint splatters, rips and tears. And cost a lot of money! Not mine. I got them
from the “last call, next stop the garbage” rack in Old Navy. I shop there
because it has “old” in its name, making me think I’m welcome.
I have a similar pair of
jeans hanging in the garage, a 40-year-old pair of Levi’s. With stains from
real work, paint splatters, rips & tears that appeared the old fashion way;
they were earned, not factory produced. The other difference between my work
pants and my “I’m not old jeans” are the width of the legs. They are wider and
you can squat down and do stuff with no fear that the seams will rip apart.
They hang in the garage next
to the rakes and snow shovels, waiting patiently to be put into action. A painting
project, carpentry, or digging around in the dirt. Something that the “I’m not
old pants” couldn’t hold up to. I wish I
had theses paint splattered, fashion pants when I was a kid and had to face my
mother in a pair of jeans covered with grass stains. Especially, since she always
warned, as I ran out the back door, “Don’t you dare get grass stains on those
pants!” She didn’t understand, when you play cowboys, you have to wither on the
ground and die properly after being ambushed and shot by two bad guys with
loaded cap pistols.
I don’t know what point I
was trying to make with this rambling. Maybe, I just wanted to brag that I had
a hip pair of jeans or to acknowledge that old coots still retain a sense of
style, and even though we are averse to change, we are willing to stick our toe
in the water every once in a while. As long as it’s cheap!
Comments? Send to
mlessler7@gmail.com
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