It's All About Me (sure it is, dear, sure it is...) 2

Yesterday, Sunday, I was minding my own business on a quiet and leafy street in East Van, while examining the contents of a little sidewalk library, when I noticed a scrawny half naked little man near my age )I am 70), wearing only shining magenta shorts and sneakers, He sported a dark suntan that would worry any self-respecting dermatologist or oncologist.  With his caved in chest and bones showing so clearly I could count every one of his ribs.  He said to me nonchalantly,"you'd better put on shorts or yer gonna melt in this heat."  I thought he resembled a medieval woodcut of death. Instead of swearing at him, I casually replied "My choice, not yours", and he got away awful quick.  I might have added in my rebuff the famous words of Germaine Greer, "You're young only once, but you can be immature forever," but I'd already made my point, and besides, it would be like hitting a child.  (mind you, with permissive parenting these days and a whole generation of entitled little brats getting ready to grow into the pack of entitled young adults that are soon to succeed us, there are some children I wouldn't mind at all hitting, and even more so, their parents, though in theory I actually do not approve of hitting either). So, what was I wearing on this hot summer day?  A mink coat?  A Canucks toque?  Woolen mittens and a big wrap around Hudson's Bay (remember them?) scarf? I was wearing a light cotten, oversized long sleeve button down shirt, very elegant with narrow vertical lilac, black and white stripes.  a very beautiful shirt actually that I got for maybe fifteen bucks at Value Village last year.  And a pair of blue jeans.  Casual elegance and easy on people's eyes.  Unlike the scrawny freak show in magenta jogging shorts.   I was also previously criticized a week ago by an acquaintance for overdressing in the heat.  None of her business but I kept my mouth shut. The thing is, I do not like wearing shorts.  They look ridiculous on adults, plus I am comfortable going out fully and properly dressed.  And why should I inflict on other people's eyes the sight of my gleaming white legs and varicose veins?  My ankles look like two slabs of Danish blue cheese.  Okay, Stilton.  Or how about Gorgonzola? No one should have to look at that.  And really the sight of some of those legs: some so hairy that they must have been sired by a billy goat, or women with lacklustre games and cellulite that will never measure up to Marlene Dietrich, or some skinny guy who finally has shown us where those two missing pool cues ended up. Yes, I get it, people like to feel comfortable.  Who cares what others might think?  As long as I'm happy.  But, anyone taking a good look at modern sidewalk scapes over the past fifteen years or so will be inclined to agree that people in this city do not know how to dress,  and I am not talking fashion plates.  I mean this:  We all visually impact one another when we are out in public.  It isn't so much a matter of how good or how awful we must think we look, but how we are affecting one another.  An extreme version of this can be found in many Islamic states where a woman appearing not properly covered could face time in prison or worse.  An absurd, tragic and lethal extreme.  And I for one do not advocate social or government controls over how people dress.  As far as I am concerned, anyone should also feel free to go out fully naked if they want.  It doesn't mean that I approve, by the way, I just think that nobody has any business telling anyone else how to dress. But what I also see here, is how people's attitudes about clothing show a decided slide into hedonism and individualistic narcissism.  I mention again our sidewalk scapes of grown men everywhere dressed like toddlers:shorts, hairy, skinny or ugly bare legs, dumb looking T shirts, often bearing logos or dumb comments.  Or tank tops.  Hey, some people look great half naked.  Nature has been very kind to them.  But why advertise?  Why draw all this not necessarily desired attention to yourself?. And by the way, no one should have to look at all those ugly disfiguring tattoos you have tagged yourselves with. There are those who do dress beautifully:  like the tall and elegant transwoman sporting a brilliant tie dye shirt.  I told her "You are wearing the colours of the day", and how she smiled and glowed.   To the rest of you I say: Please take more care and a little more pride in how you present yourselves.  You are not alone.  It is not all about you.  Others see you and react to you.  Be kind.  Dress like an adult.  As  beautifully as you are able.  And please get over your narcissism.