Well, as I told you when I started this blog, I am a random person. And being a random person, I think of random things at random times. My random thought for today has to do with clothing. Which piece of clothing you might ask? Well, my faithful readers, I am talking about sweatpants.You may wonder where this is about to go, I mean sweatpants are a very random thing to ponder. I know this, but it is the thought floating around in my head.
I want to know why a single pair of sweatpants, no matter how old, torn, tattered, faded or stained can be so treasured. I know, we as humans grow an attachment to things over time and that could be the reason. But what makes this one pair of pants different from all the others in the world?
The pair of sweatpants that holds a special place in my heart came from a track meet my junior year in High School. This was an invitational only meet, meaning that only 1 or 2 people in each event, from each school were invited. I was invited to throw Shot and Discus. The meet was held at Appalachian State University, in their (and now our) amazing facilities. The meet was held on a Saturday in early April (I think) and the weather in April is rather random. Well this day showed the major difference in a 35 minute trip up a mountain. When we left from the High school, it was warm, mid 60s, sunny, blue skies. A great day to be outside. Well, when we hit Boone, it was a different story. It was cold, wet and windy.
Not ready for the vast difference in weather, I was in my track suit and my uniform. This was fine for mid 60s and sun, but for low 40s and rain, it was vastly inadequate. Since there was a meet full of perspective buyers, the host decided it would be a great idea to sell some sweats, pants, shirts and some t-shirts to raise money. And it just so happened that the day called for warm clothing. Being extremely under-dressed, I decided that I wanted, no wait I needed another pair of pants on. With that decision made, I went and forked over the $8 or so and had myself a brand new pair of ASU Track and Field gray cotton sweat pants.
Those pants were a must have for me on meet day through out the rest of that season and through my senior season as well, all the way to NC A&T and the NCHSAA 2-AA State Championships.
I wore those pants a lot of places. I wore them to the weight room during my time at Chowan University playing football, I wore them in Mexico on a family vacation. I wear them now in Boone, as I am now an ASU student. They are thin, faded, stained, and ripped (I hate elastic in the cuffs of pants, so I cut it out). They have no pockets, they aren't stylish, but they are mine. They are comfortable and that is all that matters. I dont wear them to class (anymore, that ended when I moved off campus and needed to carry my wallet, keys, and phone because these pants have no pocket), but they still find their way to the library, when I know I will be there for a long night of studying or paper writing.
My attachments to these pants are strong, I have accomplished many things in them; from personal and school records in the Shot to squatting more that any person should squat. Some people may look at them and wonder why is that crazy guy wearing such shabby sweats, he so isn't cool. To them I am sad, because you dont know the comfort from putting something on that hasn't ever changed and hopefully will not change for many years to come. Then there are the people that see me wearing the afore mentioned sweats and think to themselves "I wonder if my (insert article of comfort clothing here) are clean/not too dirty/not to smelly to wear when I get home.
To you, I say the answer is no, your favorite article of clothing is not too dirty to wear. So head to the drawer, hamper, pile of clothes in the corner that you cant tell if they are clean or not, or your dryer and put them on! I know that mine are now clean (I washed them tonight and the dryer is done drying now).
Happy Trails my FRIENDS, and until next time, stay alive and above water.
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