In Uniform
My father celebrated his 90th birthday this week. He is enviably beloved, as evidenced by the friends and family who contacted him all day by text, phone call, email, and Zoom. Heading into his tenth decade, he still flies his little Cessna airplane, works out daily, and surprises us with new details in old stories.
Like the one he told at dinner, about the Navy boot camp he accidentally signed up for two weeks before the Korean conflict. It’s a story we’ve heard before, only this time, we learned he was a push-up champion there.
My mind instantly pictured him at 18 in a Navy jumpsuit—head shaved, ears sticking out, sweating on the ground—surprising his commanding officer with the grit and stamina of this short young sailor and aviator-to-be. It’s a new picture now tacked onto my crowded mental bulletin board of him.
Many of these mental pictures are of him in uniform. There are the Navy ones: dress whites, bomber jacket, aviator shades, and this new recruit jumpsuit. I also picture him in uniform as a boy scout, a marching band member, an intramural football referee, a college cheerleader, and whatever you wear to sell Revere Ware pots and pans.
Each of these uniforms could prompt a whole slew of stories. I plan to ask about them while I still can.
a writing prompt
What uniforms have you worn in your life? Make a list of them. Then pick one and write more about it, and yourself in it.
Or write about the progression of uniforms you’ve worn.
Let your pen lead you, and see what details surprise you.
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I was looking for an old picture of me in school uniform recently, to illustrate a post - it was such fun going through those old school pictures! Thank you so much for this prompt, Julie - I'm going to be exploring this some more. So pleased to have found you, and subscribed!
Oh, and here I am in my school uniform, halfway down this post, if you fancy a giggle... 😉
https://rebeccaholden.substack.com/p/39-first-impressions-and-conforming
Just as there are uniforms for all walks of life, from bank CEOs to rock stars and half-time entertainers. Then, when off duty, most remove the uniform--but not the mask. It's the mask that can be our 24/7 uniform.