Skip to main content

An International Experience. . .

 


This (Saturday) morning I picked up a couple of suits from my tailor, which were left for minor alterations a week ago, and dropped off several pairs of chinos as well as a pair of khaki shorts that need a button reattached.

My tailor comes originally from Vietnam, where he learned his trade, but has been in Michigan for almost 30 years.  While I was trying on things, a tall, attractive 30-something young man came in with his mother to have a suit altered for a wedding, presumably his from the tone of the conversation.  

The two spoke good English with the tailor, but between themselves a variety of Spanish, which given the lisps overheard, I suspect might be Castilian or 'Spanish' Spanish as opposed to Latin American Spanish.  But my own knowledge of the language is very rusty at this point, so I could be mistaken.

Later, my tailor and I chatted while he printed up a new ticket, and I paid for the latest round of alterations.  He shared that his eldest daughter will be leaving for Yale in a few weeks to study Environmental Science.  And apparently she was accepted to four ivy league universities.  Yes!  He was extremely proud as he told me this news, and rightfully so. 

While the notion of The American Dream has taken a beating in recent years, it clearly still exists as exemplified by this man and his daughter.  Hard work, focus, and clear goals do indeed pay off.  This young woman surely has a bright future ahead of her.  

How nice to see and hear something positive during these otherwise ugly, anxious, and fearful times in which we live.

-- Heinz-Ulrich 

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 1, 2021 at 11:19 AM

    Very nice in deed. Each time I struggle to communicate with my Vietnamese tailor I think how I’d possibly starve if dropped in the middle of her country and had to make a living. As for “Spanish” Spanish, probably the most purely spoken Spanish I have ever experienced came from a woman who had dual citizenship and one parent from each country. They might not have been immigrants. Yet for sure, legal immigration is a great thing and America is the better for it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Old SchoolAugust 1, 2021 at 7:18 PM

    Re: "How nice to see and hear something positive during these otherwise ugly, anxious, and fearful times in which we live."

    That's precisely how I feel after reading one of your postings.

    Thanks for the doses of civilization.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WSTKS-FM WorldwideAugust 2, 2021 at 3:25 AM

    Thank you both for your kind words!

    Best Regards,

    Heinz-Ulrich

    ReplyDelete
  4. CharlottesvilleAugust 2, 2021 at 8:51 AM

    Thanks for sharing this wonderfully uplifting story, Heinz-Ulrich. Like your entire blog, as Old School points out, it is a welcome counterweight to the ugliness of so much around us these days.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All opinions are welcome here. Even those that differ from mine. But let's keep it clean and civil, please.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

Popular Posts

Mid-November Monday. . .

A few minutes between classes this morning, so I snapped  pictures of today's attire and accessories.  The first wearing this season of the Optimo 'Dearborn' fedora, and the tie is a vintage number from Orvis, a nod to my late father's fly-fishing and fly-tying hobbies.  It's been two or three years since this particular necktie's last appearance, so high time to pull it out and knot it carefully around the ol' neck.  Managed to nail it on the first attempt too.  Could this be the start of a trend? -- Heinz-Ulrich
Post a Comment
Read more

The Problem of "Business Casual" Attire. . .

This is how it's done.  Business Casual the RIGHT way, ladies and gentlemen.  Even during the summer months.  A photograph (taken by Studio B Portraits ) which appeared in 425 Business Magazine in May 2017.   T his post on the problem of business casual dress began as a quick postscript to a previous blog entry last week but quickly grew and grew as additional thoughts occurred, were developed in more detail, and revisions made.  So much so, that it seemed, eventually, like a better idea to make the initial P.S. afterthought into its own entry .  Are ya ready, Freddy?  Then, here we go. . .  ------------ U nless you actually plan to sell beach snacks and trinkets on Cozumel, become a serial barista, or greet customers at a fancy nightclub after taking out huge student loans to attend university somewhere for four or five years, plus an MBA afterward, it's really a better idea to err on the side of (somewhat) more formal work at...
3 comments
Read more

My Preferred Oxford Cloth Button-Down Shirts. . .

One of several light blue cotton oxford cloth button-down collar shirts in my rotation, worn here with a wool flannel navy blazer and a vintage Italian silk necktie once sold under the Rooster label.  An orange-brown with silvery paisleys, ideal for the autumn. T he other day, a regular visitor to Classic Style for the Average Guy left a comment in which he asked for information and my recommendations on the classic oxford cloth button-down shirt, commonly abbreviated to 'ocbd.'  "Me?  Are you tawkin' to me?"   Oblique Robert DeNiro references aside, let's talk oxford cloth button-down shirts.  This particular type of shirt is one of the bedrock items every man should have a few of hanging in his closet, especially when he wishes to present himself to the world in a way better -- yes, I said better -- than what has become the sad accepted average among so much of the male populace.   First things first though.  Lots of people automatically...
6 comments
Read more