Brown Suit

I remember a time in the 6th grade when I was getting ready for school.  I decided to where blue jeans and a white "t" but I could not decide if I should tuck my shirt in or not.  I asked my dad, since he always smelled good and wore a nice suit to work every day.  My dad said to tuck it in.   So I did.  "By the way, Dad, were you cool when you were my age?"  I asked.  "Not really."  Replied my dad.  "Okay, see ya!"  I untucked the shirt and ran to school.

Big D was actually a very good dresser for the most part.  He always looked really sharp in a suit.  His 6'7'' frame, large shoulders and huge feet and hands made you feel like nothing could ever harm you.  He always wore designer ties, or at least they looked designer with a tie clip that represented his excellence in college.  He would leave smelling great and return smelling great.  However, when he got home, within minutes he would put on his "Santiago Wear."  I remember thinking that my brothers actually were jealous of his Santiago Wear because they talked about it so much.  I figured he met someone named Santiago who designed their own line of clothing and that he was from somewhere in South America.  My dad had a way of making new friends and then learning how to obtain what they did best like Santiago Wear or salsa recipes.  Santiago Wear consisted of white or black sweats and a white t shirt.  He would sometimes still be wearing his dress shoes with this outfit and as a kid, I thought it was pretty cool but now I realize it wasn't and that my brothers were actually teasing him.  I still don't know who Santiago is but whoever he is, he sure did not know how to design clothing.

All joking aside, the reason I was pondering this today was because I wore all brown to work.  Dark brown slacks and a tan dress shirt, no tie.  As a pediatrician I don't usually wear a tie as it can get in the way of my work.  When I dressed, however, I remembered my dad said never to wear an all brown suit or an all green suit as these were signs of failure when it came to business.  Big D was good about knowing these little tips of success.  I guess it came with his training as a successful salesman or maybe these were little tips thrown into his "Verbal Advantage" tapes he would listen to to expand his vocabulary.  Big D, thank you for the clothing tips, I can't say I always followed them but they obviously are stuck in my mind.  Probably stuck because of my admiration of you growing up and now.

DH