I feel compelled to apologize to everyone who lives in our town, perhaps even our region. We enjoyed a warm, dry early summer, with more sunshine than most of us knew what to do with.
Then I went and bought a couple of pair of shorts.
“Apres moi, le deluge.” We haven’t had a completely sunny day since then. I jinxed us!
I don’t think I’ve bought more than 5 pairs of shorts in my life. Why buy shorts when one has a never ending parade of favorite pants wearing out at the knees, ready to get cut and sewn into cut-off shorts?
Further, why would one raised this way pay good money for shorts now that one lives on very little income?
I find in my current life that I no longer wear through the knees of my pants. My pants wear very evenly in this active lifestyle, and usually wear out at the seams, bar tacks, and reinforcements before the knees or seat goes.
Even as I move away from cotton pants and other clothing (see Cotton Kills) I’ve retained a love for Cabela’s brand 7-pocket cotton hiking pants. I like the design of these cargo pants better than almost any other I tried, with the exception of my beloved TRUSPEC pants (see Pants Worth Paying For). The company makes shorts in this same style, but I’d never bought any before, since I could follow the family tradition of making cut-offs from older pants.
Recently, I realized my one pair of 7-pocket cut-offs had worn out. I reviewed my remaining pairs of the pants. All have worn to “work pants,” used for particularly dirty jobs like painting and car repair. I held a pair up to the light, and realized that I could see through the cloth around every single bar tack. I found all the other pairs in the same condition. Were I to hem any of these into cut-offs, the thread I used would be the strongest fiber in the garment.
Cabela’s had a sale, so I broke down and purchased a couple of pairs of shorts. Why not? I don’t wear shorts, or either of my kilts as often as I could. In this life, my shins seem perpetually bruised and bloodied, so I keep them covered most of the time. That practice leaves them fish-belly white, further encouraging concealment. But, with a warm summer in progress, I felt I could use some more short pants.
I made the purchase, and the sun forsook our region.
But, as I apologize for my obvious culpability in changing the planet’s weather system through one thoughtless act, I should point out that hope remains. After all, I recently bought a hoody sweatshirt….
Epilogue
Hey, it worked!
(Photo: Michelle L. Zeiger).