Daddy Longlegs

At a nearby strip mall today, my eye was caught by a very tall, very thin man. Like most people on this warm, sunny day, he was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Unlike most people, he was wearing dress shoes and socks, both black.

The flashbacks struck like lightning in a summer storm: vivid memories of my dad wearing similar ensembles on vacation. The mountains, the Outer Banks, Florida ... 70, 80, 90 degrees ... always shorts with the black socks and shoes.

The odd thing about this guy wasn't the getup itself, but the fact that he seemed too young to be wearing it. To pull off that look, you need a passel of mortified kids either far ahead of you or far behind.

For Karen, whose father has a similar sense of style - or at least did during her formative years.