A Lazy Saturday at the End of June. . .

A sleepy first half of the weekend here at Totleigh. Warmer and quite humid ahead of an approaching cool front here in Mid-Michigan. Perfect for yet another pair of chino shorts an a seersucker shirt -- tucked in of course -- with the usual leather deck shoes and ribbon belt. Otherwise, not much accomplished beyond a page or so of writing and monkeying around with audio settings for an upcoming podcast episode.

However, I was not completely useless yesterday! I made a huge fruit salad for dinner, which the Grand Duchess and I enjoyed a short while later at the table on the back porch. The Young Master, as is his wont on Saturday evenings, took his dinner on a tray in the TV room upstairs where he whiled away a couple of hours on Flight Simulator, flying some sort of commercial airliner to some destination across the Atlantic or Pacific.

I would have loved that sort of technology at about nine or 10 way back during the late 1970s, aka The Stone Age. As it is, my sister and I spent the better part of a summer pretending we were 747 pilots after an article on the plane appeared in National Geographic, which, coincidentally, followed a three-week visit to our uncle in England via TWA. And of course we flew to and from London-Heathrow on a 747-200.

Once stateside again, we took over the front room of the summer kitchen just beyond the back door of our grandparents' house in southeastern Pennsylvania and turned it into our own flight simulator. Over a couple of days, we fixed up the space with several large sheets of cardboard on which we drew various and sundry cockpit details and the windshield, using Legos to model the throttles, yokes, and various other physical controls. We also commandeered a couple of captain's chairs from the sideyard.

We must have done that for two months easy. It was an absolute blast, and my sister, at nine years old, was the most hilarious copilot/flight engineer/head stewardess/obnoxious passenger you have ever met. We kept each other in stitches for two months playing quite happily without any blinking, chirping personal electronic devices. 1977. What a summer it was!

-- Heinz-Ulrich

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...

Friday on Campus Style. . .

S omewhat atypically, I was on campus for several hours today helping with an interview that is part of a larger documentary project on which a colleague and I are working. Although I am behind the camera (I'm the audio guy in fact), what better reason does one need to dress presentably? Exactly. Everything worn, barring the recently purchased University of Wisconsin socks, a gift from the Grand Duchess, has been in the rotation for a while now. And, of course, there was the Panama hat, which I'll wear until we pass October 1st when the felt fedoras reappear. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Tan Suit Tuesday. . .

W hile it's now after Labor Day here in the U.S,. we still have almost three weeks left of summer according to the calendar. And since today was bright, sunny, and pleasantly warm (though far from hot), it seemed like a perfect opportunity to trot out my tan cotton suit and tan loafers/belt. Slightly disheveled, yes. And the shoes need some Renovateur to moisten 'em up But not a bad overall look if I might be so bold. -- Heinz-Ulrich

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