Those GAP Pants From Toronto 2003-2009

Yesterday, while riding about town on my biciclette, my favorite pair pants broke. These were brown Gap pants, my first pair of straight leg, regular fit, five pocket style pants, which I purchased from a clearance rack at the Gap in Toronto many moons ago for 5 Canadian dollars, that’s back when the US dollar meant something in CA, so these pants were about 3 USD, and to me, they quickly became priceless.

These pants were also the only item of clothing in my entire wardrobe, shoes included, which had leather (the manufacter’s label was leather). In fact, aside from a small leather-bound bible gifted to me by a dear friend, these pants were the only possession of mine with leather! They were that awesome.

So yesterday, I felt a growing discomfort on my inner thigh on my bike ride. It wasn’t until I got home that I could see it was from the steady wearing away of my skin by the friction from my exposed thigh rubbing against my biciclette’s seat, exposure caused by the sudden disintegration of the crotch of my brown Gap pants. It should not have come as such a surprise, I had seen the treadbare crotch before and even took special care, keeping my pants out of the wash to prolong their life, even wearing them in the bath to gently clean them with my loving hand, and yet, I did not question my actions when I slapped them on for my long evening bike ride. Denial can trump the most astute mannerism. Sigh.

I will try to mend them, maybe even put in a patch of some sort, but I know it will never be the same, and it will feel like the stuffing of a beloved pet…fitting that these pants should be partially composed of the slightest bit of animal skin.

Ooh, the crows are cawing wildly, must be going to roost, I think I’ll join them.

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