Saturday, January 28, 2012

"Blue Jean Blues..........................."

Good Evening;
Well....it started out as a good day. 

I went to sleep early last night because I  did not have enough juice in the last set of batteries to read by, and when I was in the coffee shop earlier charging the portable digital TV I never checked to be sure the power switch was set to off. And since the volume was set to the lowest setting and it was face down in it's case....I never realized it was on. And of course when the TV is on their is only a minimal amount of power allotted to charge the battery, and it only lasted 30 minutes or one episode of "The Office"........duhhhhhhh me!

I was up at 6:30 am.to pee and to break out the quilt, it was colder than when I lay down at 11:00 pm., though much less windy.

After waking back up at 9:30 am. and hitting the Giant to wash up and make coffee I went to the library for some books and music, and to drop off some material that was due. Then I took the bus and the bus to the Goodwill Super Store...aka the 'Gucci Goodwill' in Reisterstown. I spent an hour pawing through and trying on jeans until I found an almost new pair of LEE Riders straight legs that were still dark blue but soft, and NOT! Relaxed Fit or stretch or 'baggys' or loose fit....etc., that fit like the proverbial glove.
I usually avoid the second hand/recycled/used clothing shops because they don't often have the larger waist sizes I wear....except for the really big and baggy styles that also are ridiculously long in the leg.
In my experience, most big guys tend to wear out and throw away clothing, since shopping for new ones is a miserable chore with limited selections of size, style, and cut. That being said, I was delighted to find a pair of 
W48-L30 for $13.00 in excellent shape and a comfortable fit...(especially the 'rise', which is cut so damn low in some styles and high in others....particularly Levis, the sworn enemy of my scrotum!........lol!).
I had exactly $12.00, bills and coin, which the nice lady at the register said was good enough....God bless her.
To keep costs down, the bags used for merchandise vary from blank, generic to surplus, mistakes, and printers overruns with logos from different stores.....mine was a MACYS bag....

Which leads to why the day was better in the first half.... 
I was on the Metro Subway from Owings Mills to State Center to transfer to the Light Rail to Mt. Washington and after the train entered the underground segment just past Cold Spring Station the warmth of the car, and the rocking of the train, and the 'white noise' like sound through the tunnel had me closing my eyes and dozing lightly as often happens.
I was on the aisle seat of the first row of forward facing seats to the right of the door with 2 perpendicular center facing seats along the bulkhead in fro nt of me with my bags on the window or inside seat.

At Mondawmin station, the first stop underground, a whole 'gang' of 20 or so teenagers got on the train, bouncing around from seat to seat and roughhousing, and screaming at full volume at each other over the noise of half a dozen different music devices/phones/ipods, and generally being as obnoxious as possible and purposely, verbally and physically annoying and trying to intimidate everybody and anybody. The held the doors open while shouting at others on the platform, until the train Operator/Driver and threatened to shut down the train and call the police. At the very next stop, Penn North, they all boiled off the train......only problem was that they grabbed and/or tried to grab anything that was at hand and not being held tightly, and running off the train with it or knocking to the floor and kicking it or stomping it. Hats off of peoples heads, bags and packages, sodas....etc. When they hit the platform they ripped open and threw about everything, mostly into the opposite side track-way, (which is a concrete trough about 5 feet deep, filthy with dirt, oil, trash, drainage water, all covered with the metallic dust/rust from the brakes of the trains), or in the case of food and drink, onto the walls. This was not a 'robbery' per se, but more like a spontaneous 'grab what you can and toss it' vandalism attack. As the train pulled away they could be seen running up the stairs and escalators empty handed.

Well...my black bag, (with the laptop, et al), was on the seat next to me with my left arm entwined in the strap, as always, and my 'larder or pantry', the Giant bag with my food items was under my elbow.......I guess you can guess what was not secured. Yes the MACYS bag with my new, (to me), jeans was laying on my lap after I had looked inside to check on something regarding the zipper of the jeans.....and I grabbed too late, and got tangled in the shoulder strap of the black bag when I tried to stand up. All I could do is look out the window and watch them fly out of the bag and into the trench.
I though about getting off and going back a stop, but if I was to try to go into the trough to get them...after having been passed over by at least 2 trains...I'd be arrested, and no way the cops are going to fish them out.
Luckily...HA!... I'm at such a low point emotionally right now, I really can't even work up a good, angry, righteous indignation....lol.


Of course the pair of jeans I'm wearing now, the only pants I have, just started to fray and separate at the waistband and the left hip area when I just got up to use the bathroom....lol.


Anyway, I'm done tonight, but if anyone runs into any cheap/free used but nice jeans in the 48W-30/31L size let me know where please. 
(Lee, Wrangler, Target-generic......NOT Levis OR 'Designer')
Thanks.


Later..............Dave

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Why not Levis OR 'Designer'?