If you know the music of the Zac Brown Band, then you know they like their chicken fried, a cold beer on a Friday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right, and the radio up. That all sounds wonderful to me — especially the jeans thing.
Yes, there is something about how blue jeans fit to your body after a dozen or so washings. And when you get used to a certain feel, no other jeans “fit just right.” Can you relate?
As a child, jeans didn’t matter much, as they all wore out in the knees from pushing around those Hot Wheels anyway — except for the Toughskins. They really were tough. The rest of my jeans weren’t. Fortunately, Mom was handy with a sewing machine, and I thought the knee patches were kind of cool.
I attended a Catholic grade school, and blue jeans were not part of the dress code. But outside of school, that’s all I wore. Didn’t matter what brand, as long as they were long enough (you didn’t want to be accused of wearing “floods”) and flared to the max (which posed a problem with bicycle chains). It was the 1970s, after all.
When my junior high years rolled around in the 1980s, the jeans of choice for the guys and the gals were Levi’s. The fancy pocket stitching disco jeans were no longer cool, except for my buddy, Ian. He made them work. In those days, all the Levi’s off the shelf were stiff as cardboard. You couldn’t wait to get those washed a few times so your knees could bend. Not too many years later, the options came along — button fly, stone washed, shrink to fit, etc. As long as they were Levi’s, it didn’t matter.
My wife bought me a pair of “skinny” jeans a few years ago, but I couldn’t get them past my calves. These days, when I wear jeans, I am partial to the relaxed fit options. I am not built like Earl Campbell, but I do appreciation having some leg room. As I have stated many times before, the older I get, I care much more about comfort than style.
The worst part, of course, is when a pair of jeans that fit just right wear out, and you have to start over with a new pair. The wear is no longer from pushing Hot Wheels around on my knees, but it may have something to do with the fried chicken and cold beer.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com |
