Might not feel like Bermuda but shorts will do
It’s my walking outfit. I can’t claim to be a fashion maven. My choice of work clothes is best illustrated by what a co-worker once told me. Her mother saw me walking into a bank. “There’s my boss,’ she related to her parent. “Oh, I thought he was the janitor,’ her mother responded.
Well, on that particular day my choice of colors for pants and shirt was probably a little too similar – both were tan.
But that’s how I dress.
So when another friend came to see me the other night, my lack of wardrobility was once again reinforced.
Laughing, she said, “Tracy and I were in the car a couple of weeks ago and I saw this guy out wearing a hat, coat and Bermuda shorts. I said, ‘What kind of a nut would be out on a cold night like this in Bermuda shorts?’ Tracy told me to ask Jim Pletcher the next time I saw him.’
Yes, it was me. Ladybug, our house canine, and I go for a daily walk. About the only thing that prevents us from going is rain. Snow, heat, cold weather are not excuses for abandoning the daily stroll. We only avoid rainy perambulations because Ladybug doesn’t have a raincoat and neither my wife nor I enjoy smelling a wet dog.
So the walks are part of our daily routine. Ladybug, at about the same time each day, stands in front of my chair in the living room, her ears flexed, tail wagging so hard the cats avoid it for fear of getting caught in the updraft, tongue hanging out, her face bearing the expectant look of expectant looks. At that moment I’m glad she can’t talk because I know what she would say.
“Get up. Come on. I want to go for a walk,’ which she probably intones anyway in her barking.
As soon as I put on my walking shoes, that’s it. The dog runs from one end of the hallway to the other, dashes down the steps and back up, leaps, bounds and only halts long enough for me to snap the leash to her collar.
But what do I wear that draws comments about my supposed sanity?
My year round choice is a short sleeved shirt and shorts. In summer it’s what I wear. In fall it’s what I wear. In spring it’s what I wear. Well, you get the picture. I suppose it’s not a very pretty one, either, since my legs never seem to tan.
There are a couple of variations. In hot weather I don’t wear socks. In cold weather I do.
During some of our more recent frigid days and nights I have also added to this outfit a small cap and a light coat. A couple of times I have also worn gloves.
Does it bother me to dress like this when the mercury plummets? No. Thermally, I run hot all year round. I perspire very easily and even on those freezing nights when I return home I usually have to mop my brow.
The walks we take are for the exercise, mostly, although I enjoy strolling through the neighborhood learning about the different streets and avenues.
The distance we traverse is anywhere from a mile to two miles, depending on which turn we take. There are some hills that provide challenge and get the heart beating faster. And Ladybug likes to move quickly, which means for me to keep up I have to quicken my pace.
It shows. My friend, after reporting on the “nut’ walking around in Bermuda shorts, commented that “You were really moving.’
That made me feel good. If the workout doesn’t show on my portly frame, at least there are eyewitnesses to our energetic excursions.
But as far as my walking wardrobe, I have no plans to change.
Why should I? We normally wait until dark to go out. After all, I don’t want to frighten the neighborhood kids.
Or their parents.
Have a good day.
Jim Pletcher is the Herald-Standard’s business editor. E-mail: jpletcher@heraldstandard.com.