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Well I'm not one for making pretenses of someone or something I'm not. My attire is simple and more important affordable and functional. I buy Dickies coveralls and wear work boots. Back in my younger days I wore blue jeans and tee shirts or flannel shirts in the winter. That came to an abrupt end for several reasons. Before forced retirement I worked as a maintenance mechanic in a health care facility. I was not the janitor but rather the electrician, HVAC mechanic, Boiler Operator, and handler of all emergencies from power failures to rescuing persons in a broke down elevator. My boss required we wear jeans and a uniform shirt.

At work I starting noticing when I was running the quarter mile mad dash to respond to a fire alarm I was pulling up my pants and trying to grab tools from falling out of my tool belt. I bought coveralls and problem solved. Also when I had to bend over no crack :>} My boss at first was flustered but I made a believer out of him considering he wore suspenders LOL.

Fate would have it a disability hit me making wearing a dress shirt especially with the wretched and sadistic hangman's noose inflicted upon mankind called a tie impossible as also buttoning a shirt any higher that the second button down. I'll rip a tee shirt or a dress shirt off of me that touches my throat. I wear work boots likely more expensive than most peoples best dress shoes. Necessity dictates I do this as I was born Club Footed and as an adult also became Flat Footed. The boots along with prescription insoles mean I can walk on pavement and concrete. It also means my Red Wing work boots last me two years vs even the best shoes one month. Before that I broke over the sides of shoes which when I was growing up perplexed my parents as to how I could wear out good shoes so fast. I wear this no matter what the occasion yes even funerals including my Moms I presided over a year ago with two very conservative ordained ministers blessings.They were both recently retired and friends of the family.

I miss wearing my blue jeans. I miss the tee shirts as they were cooler to wear than coveralls in the summer and I fall into the having low tolerance to heat medical category. Oh yeah just to be in style I use a metal cane to help keep my balance. I got tired of seeing the metal so I bought a roll of Camouflage Duct Tape and wrapped it. It gets a lot of positive comments mainly "where can I buy a cane like that" from persons my age and older. For formal occasions I do have a hand crafted wooden cane but is too heavy and has way too much sentimental value for everyday use as my dad, cousin, and myself made it for my use.

The one thing I do get a kick out of is I'm 60 now with a almost white beard and partially bald so I wear a hat or wrap over my head when outside. Little Kids look at me in amazement when I'm out and about especially near Christmas. It took me a while to learn why. They think I'm Santa. One kid told his mom I saw Santa and he was out of uniform. Even the local Game Warden saw me out walking along a river trail and said "I want a Red Ryder BB Gun and a Red Wagon". I said you want what? He laughed and repeated it and said "You're Santa aren't you?" We both laughed and talked a few minutes. I found out he served on a ship usually across the pier from the one I was stationed on and in the same time frame.

As for beards? I have had my full beard without a shave since 1985 the last time I had to shave it off due to a National Guard obligation. When it ended the beard started again. I do keep it trimmed but on the long side. I've had it all but 18 months since 1977 when I grew my first one in the Navy. That means roughly 40 years of having a beard.

Oh one last thing. My late beloved stopped attending church in part due to a dress being required. It was not practical for her to wear one nor functional. She wore sweat pants with what is called Moon Boots Inserts for shoes to protect her feet but was buried in blue jeans and a western top. She was confined to a wheelchair 29 years. The sweat pants hid things she did not wish the public to see and helped her maintain privacy and dignity.

Tee shirts, sweat pants, or sweat shirts, don't bug me. Going out to eat and a server having a tongue stud and nose ring in is where I draw the line. That said in my interactions with people in public even at the gas station I use language unheard today such as please, thank you, yes sir, and yes mam, that is if you and when I can tell the difference. The clothes don't make the person the person makes the person.

I'm sorry that you took such offensive and umbrage at my post; however, I suggest that you read my posts more carefully, since NOTHING I said applies to you, nor your late, beloved wife and what either of you wore/wear, due to medical problems, your profession, and lifestyle.

I didn't say anything at all about a beard! I referred to the scruffy, unkempt, 5 o'clock shadow ( or worse ) look, now so popular with some males. A well kept, nicely trimmed beard is something else completely!

Work clothing is a distinct, quite different thing entirely! Someone doing your the job you once had, in a 3 piece suit, dress shirt, and tie, is just as wrong ( not to mention patently ridiculous and out of placed !), as someone showing up to a square dance in white tie and tails. :-)

LOL...re your Santa stories! They're lovely and you sound like a kind, happy with yourself, courteous, "old school" man.