A Deep Freeze for Millions of Americans

"Boy Howdy, I'm freezing my a** off!" as my best friend who now resides in Houston is want to say. It's been frigid all the way across the U.S. particularly in Mid-America and even down to the Deep South, including in Houston where my buddy went deep diving into his chest of drawers to find his long handled drawers. 

My gosh, iguanas are dropping by the thousands out of the trees in Florida. I heard from one of my blog viewers in Montgomery, Alabama. He went running for his union suit underwear before Christmas, the red ones he favors, and continues to wear them! He probably will be for awhile yet.

This past week, I received an email with an accompanying photo from one of my new, good friends who resides in the Augusta, Georgia area. He writes:

Morning Chris,

Blessed Sunday. I trust you are well buttoned up this winter. You'll never believe this. Snow!  Snow in Georgia! I'll be danged! It started yesterday while I made preparations come what may. It hit my area around noon and got so bad, I decided to put on my wool Long Johns! Normally I'd wear my regular thermal red long handles, as I have been doing so at work since its cold in the warehouse. But I needed extra protection. 

It made the night warmer and comfortable, plus bearable. This morning before church, I stepped outside to check on the chickens with my union suit on. The sun was just rising and everything was a winter wonderland. 

I usually wear my long johns in November and especially in through February, but I do wear them to bed as it is more comfortable.  You should've seen me last year around this time; it was colder cause of the hurricane and I was much much thinner so I needed warmth.

I hope you're faring the cold a lot better than this southern boy is.  

Keep in touch, Georgia Boy

Hey, Georgia Boy, I thought I might be hearing from you after seeing on the news all the snow and ice storms across the southeastern U.S.  I don't blame you for pulling on your woolen union suit as you surely need them this winter. Hope your chickens had their woolies on too, and survived your extreme weather!! 

Like me, I know you wear union suits for pj's!  In fact, I wore mine to bed practically all last summer, having the windows wide open, enjoying the fresh mountain air and the breeze off my lake.

Keep those long johns handy, Georgia Boy, as you're likely to need them for many days to come, even down south. I've been wearing mine 24/7 since October here in northern Idaho and expect to continue until at least Memorial Day...Chris

(This, the fifteenth posting in my "winding down" of the series of "Down On the Farm.")

Another Winter Olympics Has Begun! Could be the best ever.

Did you catch the opening ceremonies in Italy yesterday? Another fabulous kickoff on this U.S. Football Superbowl weekend. Back on March 4, 2018, I posted this P&G ad of Ted Ligety, alpine skier, getting some well earned rest wearing long red underwear to sleep in. His bed covers had been thrown off, revealing that he like many of us, chose union suits to sleep in:

 Olympian Union Suit Fan

During the 2018 Olympics, I remembered the above 2014 NyQuil magazine advertisement featuring Ted Ligety. He was shown in bed asleep atop his bed covers wearing a red Union Suit, age about 26 at the time.

The great U.S. Alpine Olympian Skier won two gold metals. He, in his long johns, proves once again that you find Union Suit Fans among the famous and the regular Joes like you and me. Keep 'em buttoned!    ...Chris

It could have been in 2014 or another year or several years in a row when winter Olympians were all provided red union suit underwear to help keep them warm throughout the couple of weeks they competed. I don't recall which year or years. If you know, send me an email to pass along to Union Suit Fans.

.....Chris

Down Memory Lane with Artie, back when he lived, worked and grew up "Down on the Farm"

A hard workin' farm boy, who now resides in Maine, takes us back with him and his brothers to the family farm. The following is the fourteenth posting in my farmer appreciation series....    

"I grew up on a small dairy / hog farm in Southeastern Massachusetts, oldest of four boys. When I was small I had after school chores that included cleaning cow manure in the barn, feed off the grain and silage to the cows. Hard, physical work that I wouldn’t change it for the world.

"We lived in a small uninsulated farm house; main heat supply was a wood stove in the kitchen. Long Johns were a very important thing on the farm. There was no official start date to long underwear season, just Ma saying that Dad is in long johns so you boys get them on before you go to the barn.

"The above picture of rural brothers is special to me as we were spaced out in years like they were. We boys would shed our barn clothes in the back room and stand all around in our long underwear warming up while Ma got us our “clean jeans” to put on. We would play grab ass and fight like brothers do! 

"I can still hear my Grandma saying “you look like perfect gentleman in your underpants “ in an exaggerated Irish accent while my Mother laughed at her sense of humor. 

"Growing up on a dairy farm, I learned to always wear clean long johns to bed so your sheets don’t smell like corn silage.

"There's still a little rural boy left in me.... Artie up in Maine."

Farm boy and union suit fan, all grown up, learned the values of hard work as a youngster. Like most every farm kid, those lessons were taken to heart and have served him (and them, I presume) well. 

Thanks, Artie, for sharing your story of growing up on a farm.  

Long time union suit fans will remember another couple of farm boy postings I featured written by Ron Payne, a great friend over the years. He honored me by portraying his early years on a farm in Virginia. Here's a portion....Scroll back to November 14, 2019 in Union Suit Fan to "An Innocent Rube" for one of the best stories of youth and union suits you'll read!  A big shout out to my buddy, Ron, for his memories.....

Growing up back in the 50's there were union suits in the inventory of clothing stores that served small towns and farming communities. I always shunned union suits as being too ridiculous looking when I was a youngster. But when I got into high school and was changing into gym clothes, I saw a few of the boys from the nearby farms wearing union suits without shame. They laughed at themselves and ribbed each other over their "hillbilly" long johns. But there also seemed to be an element of pride in wearing "country boy" underwear.

I grew up in Loudoun County in northern Virginia on a farm between Purcellville and Lincoln. My Dad wore two piece thermal underwear but no one I knew wore union suits. I'd only seen men in union suits on TV or in the movies and it was always associated with comical humiliation. Like John Payne in "Restless Gun" when masked men held him up and made him strip down to his union suit. He had to walk into town in his one-piece long johns while the townsfolk laughed. But I saw union suits at the clothing store in Purcellville and, of course, there were the Sears catalog ads. Any type of long underwear seemed an embarrassment to me when I was a kid. So I avoided the thermal two piece type that my father wore, not to mention union suits. Being shy, I was afraid of looking stupid and having people laugh at me....

Read more in those postings I mentioned above and then take a look at Ron's update which I posted in 2023. You'll want to turn to that one too. Here's a portion:

Why Be Shy? How I Came to Stop Worrying and Love the Union Suit   

By Ronald Payne, Guest Contributor

I grew up on a Dairy Farm in northern Virginia during the 1950s and like other boys who lived on a farm I was expected to do at least some farm chores. I was excused from helping with the milking (I was scared of the cows that were so much bigger than I was) but other chores like gathering eggs, feeding livestock and driving a tractor during haymaking season were a part of my growing up. This necessitated wearing work clothes which I hated. I didn’t want any part of a farm identity (I wanted to be a sophisticated city kid). I was afraid I’d be seen in farm work clothes by other kids.  When winter came around I drew the line on wearing long underwear.  My Dad wore the two piece variety, but I thought “long johns” were just too embarrassing. If I had to be outside in snowy cold weather, I’d happily wear coats and sweaters, but no way I’d ever wear “long johns”...... 

Thanks, again, Ron...Chris 

Down On The Farm with Jerry!

A couple of weeks ago, I featured farmer charicatures of my favorite cartoonist, author, fellow union suit wearer and all around good man, Jerry Walters. 

As we are approaching the end of my agricultural series, Jerry forwarded me a self drawing, celebrating the farmers and ranchers featured in this blog lately and all the farmers and their families who keep this country and the world fed. 

 
Jerry Walters

In this, the thirteenth posting in "Down On the Farm,"  I offer my heartfelt thanks to Jerry for the many contributions he has so cheerfully provided to Union Suit Fan over the years! ....Chris 

Speaking of Farmers, Here's a Trip Down Union Suit Lane...

my agricultural posting back on June 16, 2019. Tis the twelfth in my posting, "Down On the Farm...

Like all agricultural workers, Garden Guardian John toils mightily from sunup to sundown in his garden. Lately he worked so hard hoeing and planting and weeding, he shed his overalls and shirt, deciding he could work just as well in his long johns and be more comfortable. Still, he worked up quite a sweat. So, like millions of other gardeners, farmers, and toiling outdoor workers before him, he learned that his union suit cooled him down in conjunction with a gentle breeze. 

While working he noticed that his bright red union suit kept birds, from crows to sparrows, away from his garden so he decided to spend an hour or two each day as a human scarecrow. 

Garderner John, Union Suit Fan
 and Part-time Scarecrow

Added June 19, 2019:
Clay of Saranac, NY emailed me a photo of a scarecrow with this comment...

"Chris, ole John better be careful standing out in the hot sun in his red union suit or like this scarecrow, it will likely turn pink!  And, notice the crow at the bottom of the picture? Goes to show you that once your long underwear fades it's no longer conducive to keeping the varmints away!  ... Clay"

If I ever try this myself, Clay, I will take heed of your warning. After all, who wants a faded pink union suit?  ...Chris

And Seth of Bangor, Maine sent me this:

"Chris, here's a picture of a hen and a farm boy wearing a sweater over his union suit while washing his feet. Even chickens aren't chicken of this kid... Seth"  

Ha! Thanks Guys ... Chris