They call me Mizrahi

Well, actually they don't. I'm about the last person you would look to for fashion advise. My wardrobe consists of work uniforms, a drawer of tee shirts, a handful of golf style shirts, a few random sweaters for winter, three white dress shirts and one suit. Not much there but I tend to look respectable when I go out or travel. My shoes tend to have the same limitations; one black dress, two tennis (one of those pairs are reserved for workouts), two brown casual shoes and a black pair needed for work. Other than my work shoes that are new I likely haven't bought a pair of casual shoes in five years. They are however clean and polished as I take after my father and like the look of polished shoes. They're sort of snappy. Given all that I'm still two steps up on Graybeard in the fashion game.

My Beloved often says I look nice when we are to leave our abode. That usually makes me feel really good. This past week as we were traveling I surveyed the surrounding gate at the Philly airport. I noticed a middle-aged man standing in the Southwest Airlines lineup with his family. First was the wife wearing the current casual fashions and comfortable enough for traveling. Next came teen daughter who was suited similar to mom. And then, there he was; dad, decked out in his finest two dollar flip-flops, (at least he wasn't wearing socks), gray sweat pants cut off at the knee, and his crowning achievement, a white tee shirt. Not a stylish T mind you; underwear.

Now, I'm old enough to remember when traveling, specifically flying was thought to be an event and folk dressed the part. That however, is no longer the norm. Travel can be a rigorous affair and one needs to be comfortable but there is still no point in looking like a slob who just crawled our of bed. I'm surprised the daughter wasn't standing fifteen feet away sneering the whole time as teens are wont to do. And where was wife in this debacle? Any woman worth her salt should have turned husband back at the door and told him to put on something proper. I know mine would have as would Nof50's.

There is simply no excuse for being in public looking like a total slob. He has denigrated the men of the middle-aged world, the true icons of fashion. We sit on our perch, too old for the current head-gear fashions and saggy-ass jeans down to our knees and too young for black socks with white shoes and a white belt. I say to you, slob-guy: take pride in yourself or at least don't embarrass your family in public, unless they are just totally used to that by now.

And you thought I was Abe Vigoda.