Unfortunately, even Levi’s 501 jeans don’t last forever. That’s especially true when it’s pretty much the only pants you wear, and you only have two pairs of them. I don’t know how long it’s been since I got a new pair, but it’s been long enough that I’ve worn through the seat of one of them. It’s a little harder to get along with just one pair. You have to do laundry in the middle of the night, for one thing.

For the last few weeks (since the tear), I’ve been “meaning” to get to the mall and pick up some new Levi’s. You know how well my good intentions get put into action, which is why I’ve been going on so long with just one functioning pair of jeans. This is one thing I can’t buy on line, because I’m very particular about the shade of blue I want in my pants. It can’t be too dark, but it can’t be too light, either. I’m not sure why it matters, because nobody cares. But I do.

So today I had a few minutes around noon and found my way through all the road construction to the downtown mall. This mall used to have a locally-owned store that sold Levi’s, but they went out of business ages ago, so I ended up at Sears. Well, it’s a great American institution, and it’s not Wal-Mart, and that’s about all I have to say about that. I was fully prepared to pay full price, but I was glad I grabbed a second pair, because when I got to the register, it turned out the second pair was half price. Woo hoo.

And, come to think of it, Levi’s are another great American institution. It says “San Francisco” on the label, so it’s almost like supporting a local business (even though they’re made in Haiti now). Anyway, the nice thing about 501s is that you don’t have to work hard to break them in, because they come that way. That’s another reason I like to buy them in the store instead of on line. I check the rivets to make sure they’re not loose. Wouldn’t want the button fly not to do its job, you know. But I’ve never found a loose rivet yet. Good old American craftsmanship.