Pocatello Polka Dots

For some odd reason, LDS Conference Weekend was always huge at The Sun. Maybe it was all the missionary reunions, but something drew big, happy crowds down to the clubs of West Second South. 

On such a big Friday Night, I dreaded wearing the same old thing to the same old bar. I tried on several outfits leaving a pile of little flat people stacked on the bed. Nothing was doing it for me so I went to Crossroads Mall with Visa in hand.

I wandered through Nordstrom which was too pricey. Chess King was too trashy. I even went to ZCMI across the street but left lest anyone see me there. Weinstock’s always seemed to be the answer. I walked into their preppy party department and started thumbing through the racks. Then Lo, the angels sang and the heavens opened up. I looked up to see the solution to all my worries. It was a vision in white.

A mannequin sporting white pants, a white cotton shirt with grey polka dots, a silver and black bolo tie and suspenders was staring me right in the face. Throw in my pair of grey Topsiders and I was in business. I told the sales clerk that I wanted the entire ensemble. He bagged it up, sent me into debt and on my way.

I got home and couldn’t wait to put it on. I gawked at myself in the mirror as I constructed my Flock of Seagulls coif. A spritz of Drakkar Noir ...and Showtime!

As expected, The Sun was jam-packed that night, so I jostled my way back to the dance floor. I bought a G&T and managed to grab a seat on the stairway. The music was pounding out something that had the dancers going crazy. It must have been Eurythmics’ “Missionary Man.” I watched the mayhem for a minute until my eyes popped out of my head. White pants, a white cotton shirt with grey polka dots, a silver and black bolo tie and suspenders were standing not twenty feet away from me. I ran over to him and awkwardly laughed hello. We gave each other the once over and I asked him to dance.

His name was Steve. He was in town from Pocatello for The Big Weekend. Weinstock’s was his first stop. We danced a bit and drank a bit. We talked a lot and laughed a lot. Then we went back to my apartment.

In the morning, we didn’t know which clothes were whose.