"I've Got A Lot Of Respect For A Gun"

So I was driving past campus yesterday afternoon, and while stopped at a stopsign, I noticed a kid walking along next to the road. He had on a suit, a backpack slung over his shoulder, and he was wearing a trucker hat.

You're all familiar with trucker hats, right? The hat part is made of some foam-like substance for the front half and a rather stiff mesh for the back half. They're supposed to breathe really well or whatever. They usually have a John Deere logo splashed across the front. The baseball caps we wore when I played little league back in the mid-'80s were of this variety. In short, they're stupid looking (much like most everything people wore in the '80s. I mean, tube socks? Neon? Sweatshirts with the sleeves cut off? Brightly-colored wrist- and headbands? Dear God, what were we thinking?). Yeah, a guy in a suit and a trucker hat.

Now, I know I'm not the most fashion-hip guy out there. I know my own fashion sense ground to a halt sometime around grunge. I wear jeans and t-shirts when I can get away with it. Most of those t-shirts are from concerts (two Bob Dylan, two Beatles, an Eric Clapton, a Sting, Paul McCartney, and then a handful of shirts that I've accumulated over the years, like my Shawnee soccer t-shirts). I like flannel shirts. I've been wearing the same jacket (much to my mother's chagrin) since I was a freshman in high school. When it gets cold, all I do is add my hooded sweatshirt under the jacket. I have no sense of fashion, really. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy would take one look at me and say, "Do we look like miracle workers? C'mon, you have to at least give us some raw material to work with." Actually, they'd probably just scream in terror and curl up into a little ball, but if they were capable of speech after that, that's what they'd say.

But that being said, there are some clothing matches I will not stoop to, especially since I don't even care for trucker hats (and don't usually wear a hat anyway). Even with my limited understanding of fashion, I can tell this guy looks like an idiot. He probably thinks he looks cool or something. I think he needs to be kicked in the teeth.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Bob Dylan, "Diamond Joe"