“I was General Patton’s fashion advisor,” my grandpa would sometimes bring up after a good meal, which was always hard to believe, considering the man’s own conservative Swedish style of dress. Comfortable slacks, short in the leg, accompanied by a thick, long-sleeved flannel shirt, buttoned high, all over a well-worn pair of long underwear, both top and bottoms - ask any old Swedish man to define “fashion” and he’ll talk to you for hours on good ways to stay warm.
“Staying warm is the key,” he’d say. “I knew it, so George knew it. Some say we won the war because of Patton’s understanding of warmth.” I’d never really thought of my grandpa as a war hero, not even back then, when the war was still fresh in people’s minds and actual soldiers walked the streets, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe he was the general’s fashion advisor. Maybe warmth is the key. I’ve heard stranger things.
The thing is, so much time has passed between now and then, that I guess I don’t see any harm in believing the old man’s lies, no matter how far-fetched they might sound to you. And I think in time, you’ll come to feel the same way.