24 Apr
Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants
Sit back.
Put your feet up.
Get yourself a refreshing beverage.
I have a story.
The year, 1990.
Back then Levi 501’s weren’t the trendy jeans that they are now. I was living in Corvallis, Oregon and I could go to the Farm Supply Store in Albany to buy 501’s for about $15. I knew the ‘formula’ (I don’t right now). As 501’s were shrink to fit, the formula was to buy jeans that were a certain number of inches BIGGER in the waist and inseam. When you washed them, they would shrink up to the approximate size you need.
I had just got paid, it was the only time of the month that I had any money. So I purchased 2 pair of 501’s. I took them home, washed them… and they SHRANK TOO MUCH!
I don’t know exactly how much I weighed in 1990, as I was King of Denial! I thought, that I would ‘lose a few pounds’ and the jeans would be just fine. I couldn’t take them back because they had been washed. I never understood that. Because ANYONE who bought these jeans would HAVE to wash them. Right?
So I kept the jeans. FOR 18 YEARS!
They have rode in boxes and trunks and shelves at the top of closets… In Washington, Oregon and Wyoming! The Wife asked MANY times why I kept the jeans. I guess after a few years, I kept them as a matter of principal.
I pulled the jeans out a couple months ago and gave them their SECOND wash. I folded them an set them on a shelf next to the dresser…. to taunt me. I think that I posted a couple weeks ago that I tried them on, I could button the top button, but it was tight.
This morning… as I was getting dressed at 6 am, I grabbed a pair and pulled them on.
GUYS! I’M WEARING THOSE PANTS!
I’M REALLY ENJOYING MY PANTS TODAY!
I really like saying… PANTS, PANTS, PANTS!
Posted by Summer on 24.04.08 at 9:41 am
Nice. And the more you wear and wash, the more comfortable they will get… awesome!!!
Posted by Charles on 24.04.08 at 9:41 am
Rock on, John! That is awesome news. However, how are you going to feel when you shrink out of them… after all this time, you may only wear them a few months and then what? Will you again put them in a box in case you ever fit in them again? Or will you finally let them go because you finally enjoyed them and can move on with that part of your life (and $30)? What’s it gonna be? Or will you take what is behind door #2?
Posted by John T on 24.04.08 at 9:41 am
Once I get some wear out of them… I will GLADLY let them go. I feel that this is a tremendous part of my story. I may have waited 18 years to ‘lose a few pounds’, but I did it!
I can still remember the day I put these pants on the first time and discovered that I couldn’t wear them. The disappointment/regret wasn’t that I was on my way to becoming a fat tub o’goo, but that I had spent $30 for pants I couldn’t wear.
I am taking pictures of my old fat clothes to put on eBay (of if any of the FB’ers want them?). I am noticing that some of the biggest sizes don’t have much wear left in them, but there are a few in the middle that I only wore for a couple months. There is a certain regret that I don’t get the “FULL WEAR” out of a piece of clothing, but it feels great to know that a pair of size 50 pants are too big to wear.
I have a few other thoughts on this that I will post when the clothes are ready to go up for the taking.
Posted by rev.todd on 24.04.08 at 9:41 am
This is awesome dude! I’m really happy and proud of you! Your story is something that can really keep you going. Great job!
Posted by Girth Watching Matt on 24.04.08 at 9:41 am
Result! Well done. I have a stack of trousers (I’m from the other side of the pond where your pants go on the inside(!)) that go from size “slightly small than now” down to the size I want to be. Some times I try that top pair on and so far two pairs have entered active service as my biggest pairs face retirement on the grounds that I never want to be “that big” again.
well done.