Lucky

Today was a lucky day. Those who know me well are familiar with my eccentric obsession with Lacoste polo shirts. It all started back in high school and many,many treks were made to the Deseret Industries in hopes that some 45 year old gentleman had recently cleaned out his late 80's/early 90's wardrobe. We had very small success in obtaining these precious gems, but before my mission I had accumulated 4 or 5. Not bad.

One of my favorite parts of Ukraine was how ridiculously frequently we came across second hand stores. They are everywhere. You practically trip over them, and I could rarely resist the urge to drop inside to check out their ties and scan their polo shirts. One of the truly remarkable things was how often we found Lacoste shirts, especially in the Donetsk region, and with the help of friends I created quite the Lacoste enterprise. I had sweaters, polos, button downs, even a skinny sock tie with the trademark gator. I scrambled to find as many as I could, knowing that my chances of finding them back in the states were very scarce.

One of the first things I noticed when I got to America (in the airport) was how many people were wearing Lacoste shirts. They really came back with a fury! Now that the original French company has bought the label back from Izod, they're manufacturing like crazy, and anyone with 80 bucks can enjoy that fabulous fit of a Lacoste cut polo.

On my way to the mall today I took a wrong turn, still not quite familiar with the layout of Provo, and I found myself approaching the Deseret Industries. I decided to drop in on the off chance that there'd be a cool cardigan or tie. I was completely shocked as I mechanically sorted through the polos, looking only for knitted emblems when I almost flipped past a bright red Lacoste polo. I pulled it off the rack and gazed at its radiant glory. It was a rather startling experience, one of those beautiful-things-happening-when-you-least-expect-it kind of things, and I wanted to announce to all the patrons my triumphant discovery. I didn't know how they'd respond though, and fearing their jealousy I swiftly moved to the checkout and threw down my three dollars.