My wife, Polly, and I went to Fort Wayne, Indiana Saturday to eat dinner at an upscale Chinese restaurant and do some shopping at Belmont Beverage, The Fresh Market, and Fresh Thyme Market. We had a delightful, albeit tiring, evening.
Polly snapped a photo of me in front of The Fresh Market. Note how my right hand is clenched due to the neurological problems I mentioned in I Apologize for My Inability to Meet Your Expectations.
Regular readers know I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). More on that in the future. The coat I am wearing? I own six of them: heather, green, rust, blue, green, and black. 🙂 Awesome coats that can pass for a suit coat, if need be. I bought them on Amazon for $59 each. I then had them pressed at $17 each. You can never have too many coats, right? Or shirts. Or shoes . . . Or hats . . . or . . . 🙂
I am obsessed with wearing fashionable, color-matched clothing, suspenders, belts, and shirts. This means I have thirteen fedoras, twelve pairs of Perry suspenders, and eight pairs of shoes (all 4e and 5e). I can be quite a slob at home, wearing tee shirts and sweatpants, but when I go to town, I dress accordingly. My grandchildren proudly say that I am the most fashionable grandfather around. 🙂
The last person who signs off on what I wear is Polly. She says nothing about my clothing purchases besides a few smirks or rolled eyes — and that’s a two-way street. But when I am getting dressed, I always ask her “does this match”? Rarely do I need to change anything, but sometimes my color matcher is off, or Polly wants me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new — say wearing brown and blue together. Oh, the struggles I face. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Connect with me on social media:
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
Great picture! I also love to dress snazzy, at least, my definition. But the last few years of surgery and covid have had me wearing bedclothes all day. I’ve gone bike riding, but there’s no dressing up there!
My husband and oldest son are good guides for me on how something really looks. If they both like it, I know it’s a winner. And I also buy more than one of a kind in different colors if the cut is flattering.
I’m glad you all are getting out and having fun. Anyway, what is the name of the Chinese restaurant? Bob and I may go there!
Bruce, you look adorable ! I’m happy to hear that you both went out to dinner, especially at a Chinese restaurant. How did you hear about that particular establishment ? Nothing like a favorite Chinese restaurant to look forward to. I need to find a new one,as the one I always enjoyed going to changed owners,and the food isn’t too good now. Sweet eggplant with chicken is a great dish, if they have it. I was addicted to my old favorite’s cooking. Does Polly ever try out Chinese recipes at home ? I hope you will be going out to eat more often. One of my favorite pastimes was taking my friends out to eat.
We love Chinese food, so I asked my oldest sons for recommendations. Both recommended the Han Dynasty in Fort Wayne.
Polly cooks Chinese food at home several times a month — everything from stir fry to General Tso Chicken to egg rolls to Beef and Broccoli to, well, anything. 🙂 I will read recipes online that sound yummy. I text them to Polly, asking her opinion. Yesterday, I sent her a recipe for soft pretzels. She is making them this weekend.
Mmmm, Chinese food is absolutely amazing, and this conversation is making me hungry! I’m imagining sweet and sour chicken balls, or something involving salt and chilli.
Were you into clothes when you were a pastor, or did you view appearances as wasteful or prideful or frivolous? Or did you view your appearance as being a good representative of Jesus? I am curious as I remember the mixed messages of putting your best forward for Jesus as being part of your witness, but that you shouldn’t be prideful. It must be nice to no longer be under those restrictions and to be able to enjoy your snazzy outfits! I like your outfit a lot! Simple, stylish, timeless, elegant. (I LOVE clothes and enjoy wearing stylish outfits. I tend to choose a lot of classic pieces and have a lot of nice jackets and dresses that are 15 or more years old. I love bringing them back into rotation. You dont really see that side of me on socialmedia as I am mostly posting photos from races where I am in athletic gear and covered in dirt. But a lot of my athletic clothes are stylish too…)
“Were you into clothes when you were a pastor, or did you view appearances as wasteful or prideful or frivolous? Or did you view your appearance as being a good representative of Jesus?”
How I looked and what I wore always mattered to me. The difference between then and now is money. Years ago, we were dirt poor, so I didn’t have the amount of clothing, shoes I have today. I always made sure I looked nice when I went somewhere. The only exception was when I went to the gym to play basketball/racquetball. Then it was sweats/shorts/t-shirts.
I thought we should always look our best for Jesus. I knew pastors who were slobs; men who wore wrinkled shirts, unpolished shoes, and suits that were dirty/wrinkled. I thought their lack of clothing care reflected poorly on their calling. BTW, I took the same approach when working secular jobs. ❤️🤣❤️
“The most fashionable grandfather around.” I love it! Translate it to Latin and put it on your coat-of-arms. (Praestantissimus avus circum, then I back translate it and I get “The most prominent grandfather around”, pah! it’ll have to do!)
I suppose I could learn a lesson from you in the dressing up department. I don’t need the plurality of every hue in the rainbow, but food for thought.
You’re looking dapper Bruce.
Love the look..and now you’ve made me hungry for Chinese food which is my favourite. I haven’t really found a restaurant in the area that’s quite to my liking since moving to this little seaside village we now call home. At our last address we had a whole street of the best Asian restaurants just 10 mins away..spoilt for choice!
Bruce, I love your sense of style!
That, from a trans woman. We know best!
I was going to ask Obstacle’s question. Some pastors and other clergy people (and their spouses) think they should “look good” for Jesus, while others think that worrying about such things as frivolous. Then there are folks like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who seem to make a point of reinforcing 1950s gender norms about clothing while being as unfashionable (or, perhaps, a-stylish) as possible.
it’s good to know that you’re still alive and kicking. 😉 you’re looking sharp, and i WISH i could get my beard to grow as long as that… but it has been stuck where it is for long enough that i don’t think it will get any longer. normally i wear the same thing every day: black pants, black shirt, black socks and shoes, and a rainbow tie-dyed bandana (which changes on a daily basis), frequently augmented with a fez… and i’ve currently got around a dozen fezzes (fezi?).