This will be an unusual Christmas memory but, stay with me. I was 15 years old. For as long as I could remember, there were 3 places we got our clothes. Our family shopped at Sky City, Kmart, and the occasional yard sale. Don’t get me wrong. We weren’t poor by most standards but, mom had to be careful when doing a lot of the Christmas shopping. If you shopped at Kmart, you may remember that their brand of jeans was called Rustler. That’s what I wore almost every day. There was that one day I accidentally wore my sister’s Sunset Blues to school, but I don’t won’t to talk about that. Rustlers were not known for being fashionable or sturdy but, they were certainly affordable.
When I turned 15, Levis 501 blues were “the jeans†to own. It seemed like everyone had a pair but me. Much like Ralphie and his Red Rider Bee Bee Gun, I dropped some pretty obvious hints. I knew we probably couldn’t afford them but, I had to ask. Well, Christmas morning rolled around. Although mom couldn’t spend a fortune at Christmas, she made sure there were plenty of gifts to open. Opening presents would last for hours. The last box I opened was exactly what I wanted but never thought I would get. 31 years later, I remember the sacrifice it took for me to get that pair of jeans. It made that Christmas very special. This year, I’m asking Santa if he could help me fit into them just one more time. Merry Christmas!
Enjoy this great song by The Guardians featuring Pat!
