tommy wrote:
Joe Orr Road Rod wrote:
I used to see him at least once a month when my office was downtown. Always with a security detail and wearing a ridiculous suit that looked something like this:
He got all flashy after Vrdolyak left and Burke became the Eddie with the power.
It was always kind of strange for me because in the 80s, the other alderman ridiculed the poor guy on the golf course. Just tore him apart in front of us. Showed him no respect at all. It was uncomfortable.
Real nice guy to caddy for, though. When he started off, he was a hack, but he improved over the years.
Obviously, I have a lot of opinions on dressing. And I have nothing against flashy dressing. My inclination is to dress flashily myself. But there's a time and a place. The other day I went to a wake and made sure not to wear an outrageous tie and/or pocket square. It just shouldn't be done. This is a guy making our laws and handling our money. He shouldn't be dressed like he's at the dice game in
Guys and Dolls.
My dad was a banker and he was a sharp dresser, but very conservative as was befitting his profession. He was a perfect 38 regular and could buy his suits right off the rack. I need a lot of tailoring. Ernie Da Tailor (R.I.P.) told me I had "freakishly short arms for a man of my size". Anyway, my dad always wore expensive suits. Then my parents got divorced and I think he stopped giving a shit. It was the 70s and he started buying crap from Haband. In the mid-80s my parents got back together and my mom said, "Look, if we're going to do this you have to get some new clothes. One of the reasons I married you was because you dressed so well. Now you're wearing... you're wearing... I don't know what." She made him go out and spend $5000 on new suits.