Benji

On Saturday I began reading a thick biography, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, by Walter Isaacson. I took this book with me to Saugatuck, Michigan when Becky and I set out for a one day early anniversary beach excursion. I got sunburned, but did manage to learn a bit about Benji's early life, including the obvious fact that my blog has a lot more in common with Benjamin Franklin's sense of humor than I realized. The guy would have loved blogging.

Benji was also nothing to look at . . . kind of like me on Saturday. I showed up for a day on the town wearing a pair of flowered shorts (green) and a bright blue shirt with whales as the pattern. I noticed that a lot of people were looking at me as we walked around town in the a.m. I asked my wife about this. "It's because you look ridiculous," she said.

I didn't really believe her until three gay guys who noticed me at breakfast started laughing at me and later, when a tour boat sailed by down the canal, I heard the tour guide over the loud speaker say, "Hey, Ladies and Gentlemen, take a look at the guy on my right. Yes, you see all kinds of fashion statements when you are in town, some better than others!" The whole boat-full of passengers and the crew were laughing and pointing, but I just waved and walked on.

Later, I changed in the back seat of the car. As Benji would have pointed out in his Poor Richard's Almanac many years ago: "A fool and his clothing are soon parted."