In he walked
Full of self assurance
His hair was perfect
With the wispy hint of a mullet resting on the collar of his leather jacket
I couldn't take my eyes off that jacket
It was made of brown leather
Cut in the classic World War II pilot style
And it was covered in patches
I surreptitiously followed him
Staring at his back
Reading all the patches
There were several from the Air Force
Various Edwards Air Force Base projects illustrated
In all their sewn glory
High altitude tests
Speed records
Electronic package proving tests
Then there were civilian ones
Motorcycle ones mostly
Marking visits to Sturgis South Dakota
The Daytona 200 in Florida
And the obligatory Bike Week patch to go with it
There was a whole string of smaller patches down the arms
All showing places that he had been
Most were different states
Some were countries
All cleverly shaped to look like their geographical counterparts
With the name across them
We came to a crosswalk
The Do Not Walk red hand was on
So we had to stop
And I took the opportunity to sidle up next to him
Trying not to be creepy
"Excuse me"
I timidly said
And he looked my way
With his strong jaw and knowing smile
"I've been checking out your jacket
And I really love it"
His smile got broader as I praised his jacket
"Thanks man, I like it too"
But I wasn't done
I wanted more
"Hey, I used to work with a few guys from Edwards
They were in the Flight Test squadron too"
I rattled off their names
I was trying to be a part of the jacket's mystique
Even though I felt a little fake doing it
He hesitated
His jaw not quite as strong
His manner not quite as assured suddenly
"Oh, um, I haven't actually been any of those places really...."
He stopped making solid eye contact with me
"This was my uncle's jacket
And it doesn't fit him anymore
So I kind of took charge of it"
The green Walk signal came up on the crosswalk
And away he went
Leaving me standing there disappointed
"It sure is cool though, eh?"
He said over his shoulder
And then he was gone
I was so put out
I turned around and went back the other way
As if following him would diminish me in some manner
I reflected on the old saying:
The Clothes Make The Man
Though in this case it seems as if the clothes were a little greater than the man
Clothing a great pretender
Clad in thick cow leather
And stolen hand sewn glory
As meaningful as putting something on a store mannequin
Where the thing that wears the clothes isn't the centerpiece
But the clothes themselves
The man underneath just a fake outline of a person
And not who you thought it was at all
Full of self assurance
His hair was perfect
With the wispy hint of a mullet resting on the collar of his leather jacket
I couldn't take my eyes off that jacket
It was made of brown leather
Cut in the classic World War II pilot style
And it was covered in patches
I surreptitiously followed him
Staring at his back
Reading all the patches
There were several from the Air Force
Various Edwards Air Force Base projects illustrated
In all their sewn glory
High altitude tests
Speed records
Electronic package proving tests
Then there were civilian ones
Motorcycle ones mostly
Marking visits to Sturgis South Dakota
The Daytona 200 in Florida
And the obligatory Bike Week patch to go with it
There was a whole string of smaller patches down the arms
All showing places that he had been
Most were different states
Some were countries
All cleverly shaped to look like their geographical counterparts
With the name across them
We came to a crosswalk
The Do Not Walk red hand was on
So we had to stop
And I took the opportunity to sidle up next to him
Trying not to be creepy
"Excuse me"
I timidly said
And he looked my way
With his strong jaw and knowing smile
"I've been checking out your jacket
And I really love it"
His smile got broader as I praised his jacket
"Thanks man, I like it too"
But I wasn't done
I wanted more
"Hey, I used to work with a few guys from Edwards
They were in the Flight Test squadron too"
I rattled off their names
I was trying to be a part of the jacket's mystique
Even though I felt a little fake doing it
He hesitated
His jaw not quite as strong
His manner not quite as assured suddenly
"Oh, um, I haven't actually been any of those places really...."
He stopped making solid eye contact with me
"This was my uncle's jacket
And it doesn't fit him anymore
So I kind of took charge of it"
The green Walk signal came up on the crosswalk
And away he went
Leaving me standing there disappointed
"It sure is cool though, eh?"
He said over his shoulder
And then he was gone
I was so put out
I turned around and went back the other way
As if following him would diminish me in some manner
I reflected on the old saying:
The Clothes Make The Man
Though in this case it seems as if the clothes were a little greater than the man
Clothing a great pretender
Clad in thick cow leather
And stolen hand sewn glory
As meaningful as putting something on a store mannequin
Where the thing that wears the clothes isn't the centerpiece
But the clothes themselves
The man underneath just a fake outline of a person
And not who you thought it was at all
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