44 long? isn't that a deep jumper from jerry west?
the first time i ever wore a suit was just before i moved away from home. i was 19 years old, and mom and dad bought me two suits to be worn on my mission. i remember thinking how mature i was because i owned a suit of clothes. that sweet suit quickly evolved into a rotting albatross tied around my neck.
when we went to salt lake city, kramer took us to a mall and i came face to face with a good source of lasting comedy. there i found a store selling Mr. Mack brand suits. apparently mr. mack is all the rage in the mission field for a couple of reasons. they are made for missionaries. they are made of a very durable material designed to withstand the wear and tear specific to spending hours a day on a bicycle seat. they also appeared to be flame-retardant, though i'm not sure when that would come in handy on a full-time mission. most notably, these particular suits are all three-piece suits, though not a traditional three pieces. they come with one suit coat, and two pairs of slacks. now that is classy and practical. what a deal. was i ever glad we had made suit purchases prior to leaving home? a kid from rural hays county, texas can recognize cow manure from quite a distance.
i spent two years in phoenix, arizona. most full-time missionaries world-wide will wear a suit all day, every day for most of the year. in the valley of the sun - where i experienced temperatures up to 122 degrees - we were given the option of leaving the suit coat in the closet from easter to halloween. this does not include sundays, when suit were required. i was lucky enough to have arrived in arizona on 19 october, when the daytime temperature still eclipsed 100 degrees. i was pleased because the suit -wearing time of the year was upon us. i quickly got my fill.
after getting to know the mission life, i soon realized that my sweet, brand new, carefully chosen suits were not as cool as i had suspected. in the mission, what passed for stylish was a thrifter suit procured from a second-hand shop. if your suit was acquired for less than 10$, this added quality to the recycled wool hanging on your shoulders. if your suit had been found in a cool locale, you were set..."yeah, i found this in a catholic resale shop in south phoenix (or ouray, or window rock, or wherever.)" it was a dry cleanable version of hotel luggage stickers. one could "brag" about one's mission travels just by dropping the location of the thrift shop from which one's suit originated. the highlight acquisition of my mission was a forest green, checked hart shaffner and marx i found in durango, colorado. let me assure you that it was fabulous. as it was quite the attention getter, it was not wholly appropriate for daily wear. i only broke it out for special occasions. i am not sure what ever came of that beauty..i think neil may have taken it to portugal.
after two years of toting around the extra weight of a suit coat; i swore them off, forever. i am fortunate that i work in a business, where suits are not only not required, wearing one would be ridiculous. as such, i have been able to fulfill my suitless desires for the better part of 16 years. i wore one as a pall bearer at my uncle billy ray's funeral. that was only out of respect for the man. i have worn tuxedo's on several instances since my oath's inception out of respect for the occasion...and fear of my wife. all this is about to change.
today, i had the adventure of purchasing a suit of clothes. my first try didn't go very well. we went into dillard's. i tried to casually inspect their offerings; but, when i was approached by a salesman, i had a minor panic attack and bolted. we got in the car and drove around the block. we didn't return to the same parking spot, but we did return to the same mall. this time we decided to try foley's. charlotte and jackson gave me some room to breathe, and i mustered up the gravitas needed to ask for help from a salesman. he quickly sized me and made a recommendation based on my meager needs. i even pressed myself into calling charlotte over for an opinion - she was a little put out over the earlier departure. 10 minutes later, we were out the door, with the offending garment discreetly cloaked in a plastic bag.
i'm not sure what to do with it now.
when we went to salt lake city, kramer took us to a mall and i came face to face with a good source of lasting comedy. there i found a store selling Mr. Mack brand suits. apparently mr. mack is all the rage in the mission field for a couple of reasons. they are made for missionaries. they are made of a very durable material designed to withstand the wear and tear specific to spending hours a day on a bicycle seat. they also appeared to be flame-retardant, though i'm not sure when that would come in handy on a full-time mission. most notably, these particular suits are all three-piece suits, though not a traditional three pieces. they come with one suit coat, and two pairs of slacks. now that is classy and practical. what a deal. was i ever glad we had made suit purchases prior to leaving home? a kid from rural hays county, texas can recognize cow manure from quite a distance.
i spent two years in phoenix, arizona. most full-time missionaries world-wide will wear a suit all day, every day for most of the year. in the valley of the sun - where i experienced temperatures up to 122 degrees - we were given the option of leaving the suit coat in the closet from easter to halloween. this does not include sundays, when suit were required. i was lucky enough to have arrived in arizona on 19 october, when the daytime temperature still eclipsed 100 degrees. i was pleased because the suit -wearing time of the year was upon us. i quickly got my fill.
after getting to know the mission life, i soon realized that my sweet, brand new, carefully chosen suits were not as cool as i had suspected. in the mission, what passed for stylish was a thrifter suit procured from a second-hand shop. if your suit was acquired for less than 10$, this added quality to the recycled wool hanging on your shoulders. if your suit had been found in a cool locale, you were set..."yeah, i found this in a catholic resale shop in south phoenix (or ouray, or window rock, or wherever.)" it was a dry cleanable version of hotel luggage stickers. one could "brag" about one's mission travels just by dropping the location of the thrift shop from which one's suit originated. the highlight acquisition of my mission was a forest green, checked hart shaffner and marx i found in durango, colorado. let me assure you that it was fabulous. as it was quite the attention getter, it was not wholly appropriate for daily wear. i only broke it out for special occasions. i am not sure what ever came of that beauty..i think neil may have taken it to portugal.
after two years of toting around the extra weight of a suit coat; i swore them off, forever. i am fortunate that i work in a business, where suits are not only not required, wearing one would be ridiculous. as such, i have been able to fulfill my suitless desires for the better part of 16 years. i wore one as a pall bearer at my uncle billy ray's funeral. that was only out of respect for the man. i have worn tuxedo's on several instances since my oath's inception out of respect for the occasion...and fear of my wife. all this is about to change.
today, i had the adventure of purchasing a suit of clothes. my first try didn't go very well. we went into dillard's. i tried to casually inspect their offerings; but, when i was approached by a salesman, i had a minor panic attack and bolted. we got in the car and drove around the block. we didn't return to the same parking spot, but we did return to the same mall. this time we decided to try foley's. charlotte and jackson gave me some room to breathe, and i mustered up the gravitas needed to ask for help from a salesman. he quickly sized me and made a recommendation based on my meager needs. i even pressed myself into calling charlotte over for an opinion - she was a little put out over the earlier departure. 10 minutes later, we were out the door, with the offending garment discreetly cloaked in a plastic bag.
i'm not sure what to do with it now.
posted by cm at 5/29/2006
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