What HE Wore Wednesday–John

This dashing gentleman is John. He is awesome. If I saw a shooting star right now I would wish that when I am his age I am a fraction of his awesome.

John attends daily mass at the wee church where I attend daily mass, and he always looks dapper and sharp. He always wears a suit with a crisp tie and a well-pressed shirt. Now that it’s winter he’ll add a rich, wool overcoat and a wool hat with a little feather to the ensemble. I so appreciate seeing his classic approach to his wardrobe.

If you come to the church, chances are you’ll see John. He leads different devotional prayers throughout the week and distributes communion to the faithful. Oh, except on Wednesdays. He volunteers on Wednesdays. So, I took these pictures on a Tuesday. It happens.

I asked if he would be so kind as to let me share his style and story with you…and, wouldn’t you know it, he was kind enough, and here it is!

John says that “ever since I was little I has always dressed well; and that carried through!”

He would dress up as a child, and he continued to dress up through school, and he always dressed well in his professional life as well. John was a teacher for thirty-eight years(!). He says that the children he taught always saw him with a nice shirt and a suit coat.

“Some people want to dress casually,” John said to me, “but I’ve never been into that.”

And then he leaned closer to me, “I have a story you can tell them,” he said, speaking about the you, the reader of this blog.

He told a story of the Superintendent visiting his school when he was a teacher. The Superintendent toured the classrooms, met the teachers and evaluated the learning environment. Apparently after the Superintendent left he sent a notice to the entire school saying they dressed too casually and needed to dress more professionally as a reflection of their work. There was, however, a piece of the note that stated John and another man were exceptions to the overall casual nature. John and his fellow teacher already dressed well.

Isn’t that a great story? 🙂

Our era, too, sometimes forgets to appreciate the well-dressed person. But, there’s something bright about looking down the pew and seeing someone who has taken the time to press a shirt, tie a tie, and shine the shoes. It makes you smile.

And so, my friends, I present John. Here he wears a dark suit (he says dark suits are his favorite), well-kept shoes, a white shirt, and a cheerful red tie.

Cheers!