Sometime around the turn of the millennium I was walking on Castro St. Saw a sign that said "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS SALE!" With an arrow pointing down an alley I'd not previously explored. Turned out to be a police supply company with a lot of bare shelves already. On the clothing rack there was one lonely visibility vest. Marked down for quick sale to $5ish or something like that. I couldn't say no. Turned out to be my favorite riding accessory for more than two decades.

  

Time for it to go. It has stains Virginia couldn't get out despite four years of trying. All of the vibrant orange that used to make it impossible to ignore long ago faded away. The velcro of the closure has worn out. The fabric of the mesh at the top is failing. Many friends have told me to let it go because its attractive period is behind it.

  

For a while when I wanted an example of a pun I'd show someone else that tag and giggle about wearing a solar vest. Didn't notice it was universal until I was typing this.

The American Flag was given me by a friend of Virginia's one Christmas.

  

One of the things that made it great was the pockets. Don't remember how I ended up getting Amanda to add them, but they made it MUCH better than anything I could buy. Too many vests in the retail system don't have big enough pockets. The red thread was added later. After using it a while I figured out the pocket she made was too deep. Tacked across the bottom I wanted and presto! Even better.

The other great thing was the industrial strength reflectivity ribbons. Probably they've saved my bacon more than once.

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