Even though it rained I was Merry Happy!

It's been a while since I listened to Kate Nash. It was a rainy morning and I was waiting for the bus at 0924 in the rain and cold weather this morning. I looked on my ipod for something good and stopped at Kate Nash. I'm Glad I did cause it definitely lifted my spirits. I had to walk from one bus stop to another and it wasn't so bad in the nasty, drizzling rain.

Anyway, take a listen and enjoy.

Ladies and Gentleman... The lovely Kate Nash!

This is weird!

Oh My God! It's Smoking!!!

I got a lot of email from people telling me how hilarious the post about my father beating the feces out of me was. I guess it's funny now but back then it was nowhere near funny. Anyway, isn't it strange how revenge can present itself in the strangest way?

For instance, My father loves fruit and he would always go to Eastern Market in Detroit and buy cherries, apples, oranges, grapes, and peaches. Now my father was from Cincinatti and we were taking a trip to stay the summer. It was him, an Aunt who's name escapes me, my sister Melissa and myself. I don't think this car had AC because I remember it being a hot car ride in the Detroit humidity.

So anyway, here we are on the highway chomping away at the fruit. Now I love fruit too and I'm eating everything! Grapes, oranges, and peaches get no mercy when in my sight. They all fall victim to my methods of mastication.

I guess this was my first lesson in fermentation. After about an hour on the road I start to feel sick. Like deep in my intestines sick. My mouth got real dry, then wet. My palms are getting clammy. I turned to Melissa and said "I don't feel right".
I guess my father heard me because I see him scrambling for bag and my aunt is looking for one too. Melissa asks if I'm going to throw up? Before I could answer a huge gush of peaches and grapes come hurling out of my mouth!!!
Kinda like Lard Ass from the movie "Stand By Me".

For some reason I didn't keep the vomit in the back seat. I spewed some in the front seat, the headliner, the stick shift, it was EVERYWHERE! Not only that it was smoking. I guess it was the hot bubbly juices in my stomach plus the fermenting fruit.
It stunk and it got on everyone's clothes. My Father was so pissed. He pulled the car over and wanted to kick my ass but he was scared I would vomit again (and we all know how he feels about getting dirty)!
He had to clean the car at the rest stop and when we got back in the car he made me finish the ride with a paper bag at my mouth just in case. When we got to Ohio he made me go upstairs in my aunt's house and go straight to sleep.

Years later I talked to my mother about that trip and she told me that he called home that day from rest stop and was so pissed that he wanted to take me back to Detroit and leave me there. She convinced him that I needed to spend the summer in Ohio and he reluctantly agreed. For the rest of the summer I was not allowed to eat fruit in the car or anywhere near him. To this very day I won't eat fruit on a roadtrip. It scares the peaches out of me!!!

A few things I plan to wear this year

While going through my closet I came across a few Items I have yet to wear. I've had these suede wingtips and ties for at least 4 years. Esquire Magazine is having a "Best Dressed Real Man" contest in April and I'll see if I can swing one of these items into the mix.

Davidson Elementary Father/Daughter dance.

Last Friday (Feb 5th) I took Zoee to the Father /Daughter dance. We missed last years dance since we went to New York and I got my car towed...
Anyway, we made it this year. Aside from the rain it was a pretty good night. Even though after 4 songs she ditched me. Zoee saw some of her friends and it was over. I spent the rest of the night drinking punch and chatting with a her 1st grade teacher's husband. He was ditched too!
Check out the pics below.

I'm thinking the gray tartan.

I went to a fabric store called Cotton Ginny's today in Cornelius. I was looking for something to re-upholster two chairs for the office where I would see clients. After talking to the proprietor Jim and running through a few fabrics I finally settled on this gray and black tartan.

The fabric would give a good play on the gray suede walls and white desk. I just need to add a few mirrors and work with the lighting to add some ambiance. Maybe a couple silk pillows and it's a winner!

This will really look good with my '59 Grundig console.

Let me know what you think

Why is it that...

Why is that if a guy wears jeans that fit, a nice sweater and tie he has to be gay?

Just because I like to look neat and put together doesn't mean anything except that I like to look neat. In retrospect, it goes back to my days as a young lad in Detroit.

My mother always said " you have to be neat and clean cause people will think as parent's we don't care about you ". I can understand that. I don't want to make my mother look bad. Now my father was a different story...

My father was a real sharp dresser and he loved clothes. Every now and then he would let me get a peek at
his fitted silk shirts and shark skin suits. My father was really into his appearance and he forced those ideals on me. So much that we weren't allowed to get dirty.

I remember one day my sister and I were at a softball game my dad was playing in. We sat near the parking lot playing with ants in a puddle of muddy water. When the game was over my father saw the mud on our hands and legs and he blew a gasket! During the ride home he asked us why we got dirty, why did we think it was ok to get dirty, and how were we going to fix it? Ok people, at six years old I don't know the right answer but the best possible answer is to say sorry and take a bath right?

Wrong! Wrong!

So we get home and he tells us that we have to get cleaned up and wait for him in the room. While we get cleaned and changed, this MOFO goes out in the yard and picks 2 switches! Now my dad was a master at mind games. He knew our bedroom faced the back and side yard. We could see and hear him cutting the switches. Instead of us getting the whippin' right then, he let's us sit there for what seemed like an hour.

My sister and I were shook!

Finally, this joker comes in and beats the living fecal matter out of us and tells us if we ever get dirty again it's gonna be worse next time!

BOOM! Scarred for life...

I can't remember the last time I got dirty. To this day I don't do much of anything that will get me dirty. I can wear an all white linen suit and white suede bucs in a ketchup factory and come out pristine clean!
All that to say, I'm not gay I'm just scared!

A little extra effort makes a big difference

I spent the last few days creating my hang tags for the store. Basically it's a process that I do to make paper look like old papyrus. After soaking and partially drying the paper, I emboss it with a press I had made with the store's name on it. I think it's pretty cool and it's different from the usual.
And being different is being great!

Abington

While at the Capsule tradeshow in New York a few weeks ago I came across the Abington line.

These shoes are AWESOME!

There's some really great chukkas and suede oxfords. The boot selection for Fall 2010 is nothing short of stylish!

Levi's for the real denim heads

I got an email today from one of my reps about Levi's Vintage Denim collection.
They're reproducing denim styles and cuts from specific historical periods in Levi's history. Being that I love denim and can really appreciate the work that goes in to making denim look good, I think I may have to head back to New York to see these in person.
Take a look at the article below from "A Continuous Lean" and find out a little more about the line.