Uniform of the Day

Here, according to my best remembering,

is how our mother dressed my two brothers

and me to go out and play in the 1950s.

I know many things have changed since

then, not the least of which is the sending

of three kids aged 4, 5 and 6 outside alone

to play. Let me know where you’re going

if you leave the backyard, she would say.

Anyway, this is how we were dressed on

any given day to go out and play: Blue

jeans by Wrangler with rolled-up cuffs;

footwear, black, PF Flyers (because they

were less expensive than the red or white);

tee-shirt, white by Munsingwear; vinyl coon

skin hat, replicated from Walt Disney’s

Davy Crockett (optional); six-shooter, cap

pistol with holster, and an emboldened

yet “Aww shucks, Ma'am” Roy Rogers

attitude—Stick ‘em up, bad guys…Don’t

even think about messin’ with me!

And my puzzled neighborhood best friend,

Larry, would have to ask, Who are you

supposed to be? (Had I worn my red felt

cowboy hat instead, I suppose Larry would

have known immediately.) Look here,

I would tell him, holding out my pistol.

It’s engraved on these genuine pearl

handles, can’t you see?

Chris Hanch 1-20-18