I’m a late adopter. Hardware, software, pants in autumn.
Herself cracked this morning and pulled on the long johns — plus long sleeves, socks, and a vest — but not me. No, sir.
The uniform of the day until further notice remains Columbia shorts from the previous millennium, a mildly pilled Paddygucci T-shirt, and some battered old Tevas. Shucks, I even went outdoors in that kit to water the shrubs.
Not for long, mind you. But still. It keeps the blood flowing briskly and the neighbors at a comfortable distance.
“Don’t get too close, now. You might catch whatever it is he has.”
Miss Mia Sopaipilla, meanwhile, welcomes the advent of cooler weather. That means the Return of the Bedcave, a passive-solar getaway that’s like a day at the beach without the sand in your undercarriage. It’s the cat’s meow, if you will.
Mad Blog Media 
Yeah… I’m in shorts as long as possible. That said, I just put most of them in the storage bin for the winter. I still have two pairs out, one on and one on deck.
Currently rockin’ a Ferrari tshirt and hat in hopes of some good vibes flowing to the Red Cars at the Mexican F1 race this weekend.
We got all winter to wear pants. I try to hold out until the snow flies.
F1, hey? I used to be nuts about auto racing when I was a sprout, in the Jim Hall/Chaparral days, but lost it somewhere over the years. But man, I had slot cars, my own track in the crawl space, and watched the races on TV. Not NASCAR, but Le Mans, Daytona, anything with both right and left turns.
Got a good look at those legs and I’ve entered you in next year’s Kentucky Derby. Not sure the Teva’s would be the right choice but we’ll deal with that when we see how the track conditions are. Giddyup.
Does the Derby allow jackasses? On the track, I mean. They’ve been in the stands for years.
Tevas. My wife wears Tevas until her toesies starts to freezies, and then she sports socks and Reeboks until the first snowfall. And then she goes bootsies; low boots when it’s low snow, and high boots when it’s high snow, so there you go. And the world goes round.
Once some proper cold sets in I’ll go to socks and Birks, in honor of my late pal John “Usuk” O’Neill, who wore that combo everywhere. Add some lightweight Paddygucci jogging pants and a ratty old long-sleeve polypro. Puttering around the house in kit like this I look like a street person batting .500 for Dumpster-diving behind sporting-goods stores.
“Must you value what others value and avoid what others avoid?” Tao te Ching
So my friends, if you want to wear sock and sandals, go for it! I often sport a pair of Wigwam socks and my trusty made in Michigan Chacos. I wrote some lyrics for a song about that, but I have to root around the digital dustbin on the lap top to find them.
Chaco’s made in the Mitten State. Big maybe…more likely packaged here or shipped from here after Wolverine swallowed the brand. Mine never had any steering wheels or fan belts which we are known to have in abundance around these parts. That is to say we make a shit ton of vehicle parts but factories that make other things are harder to find.
I was a Chaco sales rep during their start up days (Paonia) when Teva ruled the earth. Couldn’t give em away. Seriously. But after I and others quit, the brand went through the roof in sales. I still sport 3 pairs that have been glued back together countless times. And despite little use the past few years, I still sport the Chaco callus on the outside of both feet. (tip of the day-303 protectant will help keep the straps pliable without eating them or you)
Curious note: I tried wearing Chaco’s (Grant Peterson) style for my casual errand rides on bikes with bigly pedals but got plantar fasciitis so damn bad it tooks weeks to cure. But I can walk in them without issue. And as POB might agree, they make swell micropub partners when you are on taste testing but need a steady platform when there are no seats left.
Wolverine’s got Merrell, too. The last trail runners I got from ’em (Moab Light) were made in Vietnam. I love them, so naturally they’ve been discontinued. So it goes. …
Paonia? Did you live in the area Herb?
Naw…that’s where Chaco had H.Q. and production early on. I was/am in the Great Lakes region.
Yeah, I recalled that you were up in Mitten land. I was wondering since you listed it that you might have lived in Paonia. I have a cousin and uncle that are permanent residents there up on the hill. Paonia’s a nice place. Although I believe as would be expected that it is changing with interest and growth. The High Country News is still based there as far as I know.
Yup, HCN is still at it in Paonia. They do a lot more coverage of Indigenous issues these days, in addition to the usual public lands, climate, and water stuff.
My buddy Hal Walter did some work with them and HCN’s Writers on the Range back in the Ed and Betsy Marston days. Writers on the Range is an independent outfit now. Hal also wrote for the late, great Ed Quillen when he was running Colorado Central magazine.
Bicycle Retailer‘s Marc Sani was on the HCN board of directors for a spell, IIRC.
Perhaps assembled in Michigan would be a better description. Mine are about 4 years old and a custom order. I think the custom orders are the only ones assembled in Michigan. Like many other things, bought up usually means screwed up, especially if private equity is involved. Thanks for the 303 tip! I switched to Chacos because the Velcro on Tevas tore up my socks, plus Chacos had Vibram soles which lasted a long time.
Yessir any water rat learns that Velcro +sand+water doesn’t cut it. While you can get away with it on dry top sleeves and hats, on footwear at some point you’ll find a sandal sticking to the mud on the river or lake bottom and damned if you can find it.
To POG’s post, I too had some favorite Merrill boots and shoes that served me well. But the fit changed (they said it didn’t) and the soles delaminated on a few pair and that was it for me. BTW I generally wear a lightweight, trail shoe/boot for snow duty and pull on N.E.O.S overshoes which totally keep things dry and toasty. I even use the NEOS for some gruesome summer outdoor jobs when I know I’ll get soaked like pressure washing the house or weed whipping around the back 40.
I had the soles peel off a couple pair of Vasque Clarions that I loved, and that’s when I switched to Merrell. So far, so good … but I don’t really give ’em the kind of workout the Vasques got.
Vasque is a Red Wing brand, and I’ve had boots from both labels over the years. Those Clarions were the shit until they weren’t. …