Jan 29th 2009 10:01 am Bermuda low
Since so many of us are being lambasted by winter, again, I thought this cartoon from August of 2001 might be appreciated. I’ve always been told grown men actually dress the way on the island of Bermuda, hence “Bermuda shorts,” but maybe we should go see for ourselves?
Posted by jimmyjohnson / Vintage A&J
32 Responses to “Bermuda low”
Paul on 29 Jan 2009 at 10:14 am #
I’ve been to Bermuda, and they do in fact wear Bermuda shorts. While they always looked a little odd to me, the men there seem comfortable wearing them, both emotionally and physically. In the right climate they make a lot of sense.
Greg from Robertsdale on 29 Jan 2009 at 10:26 am #
The heck with bermuda, I’ll try Key Largo shorts, Bahama shorts, or even Key West shorts. No need to go ALLLL the way to Bermuda,
)
Steve from Royal Oak, MI on 29 Jan 2009 at 10:35 am #
There is a gentleman in the Detroit area that has put out a calendar of triathletes and marathoners in very skimpy outfits. He is doing it to raise money for cancer, which took his wife’s life.
Next weekend he is having a 1 mile run near a local restaurant and is encouraging runners to dress as little as possible. With the temperature under 20 degrees most of the month, that should make for an interesting race.
As someone who ran marathons just 2 years ago, it has been difficult to pass up such fun events. Due to bone spurs in my hips (a congenital issue) I am not only retired as a runner, but facing artificial hips in just a few years. When I spoke with my Orthopedic Surgeon about this event, he told me that he could not recommend it, but at just a mile I will probably not do much more damage. Unless the course is icy and I slip and fall.
So I hope to help out a good cause and go for it. I plan to run it wearing just my bermuda shorts.
Radar in Fresno on 29 Jan 2009 at 11:20 am #
I love this cartoon! It’s one of my favorites, and I don’t exactly know why. Maybe it’s because of Arlo’s total enthusiastic willingness to try anything when he gets a mind to, coupled with his total willingness to admit when something doesn’t work out.
I like to think that I’m a lot like Arlo that way, but that probably only really means I merely WISH I was a lot like Arlo that way. Nothing like admiration disguised as self-projection.
Brian on 29 Jan 2009 at 12:59 pm #
Asa Bermudian male,I can inform you that yes,we do indeed dress this way.Minus the plaid.
Patrick in Detroit on 29 Jan 2009 at 2:27 pm #
Jimmy – they sure do. My wife and I honeymooned in Bermuda many years ago and we saw lots of men walking around just like Arlo – but with smiles!
sandcastler on 29 Jan 2009 at 3:06 pm #
Jimmy, do you have time to organize a fan trip and get the book out in the fall?
Andy on 29 Jan 2009 at 3:22 pm #
Back in the 90′s I worked with a young manager from Bermuda who wore a suit with shorts to work every day. Coat, tie, shorts, dress shoes, black socks, the works. It absolutely worked on this guy. The problem came when others decided to do the same. For whatever reason, while the Bermuda native could pull this off and look natural and professional, the others who tried looked a little like Arlo in this cartoon.
Really looking forward to the book, Jimmy. Will you be including any material from the blog? If you’re adding anything besides a collection of cartoons with commentary, the posts from your trip to France back in ’05 or so might be interesting.
Andy on 29 Jan 2009 at 3:32 pm #
Ahhhhh, I found the France trip! I suppose it’s not about A&J, so it wouldn’t be fodder for the book, but it’s still fun to read the posts again. Let’s see if I can paste a link properly for anyone who wants to visit:
http://arloandjanis.com/ramparts.htm
jp on 29 Jan 2009 at 3:35 pm #
Yes, grown men actually dress that way in Bermuda. This includes the policeman standing in the kiosk in the middle of the main intersection in downtown Hamilton.
But don’t take my word for it — you should definitely go see for yourself!
-jp
scott on 29 Jan 2009 at 4:12 pm #
A friend of mine lived and worked in Bermuda for a number of years. When I visited it was slightly odd seeing him dressed for work with jacket, tie, knee high black socks and shorts. But going to work with him one day and seeing hundreds of men dressed like this was surreal! I can’t blame them though – come warm weather all I ever wear are shorts.
Cap'n Jack on 29 Jan 2009 at 4:59 pm #
I’ve been there – it is quite amusing the first time you see a banker dressed in a conservative jacket, shirt & tie with pastel coloured shorts and knee socks with oxfords!
Mary in Ohio on 29 Jan 2009 at 5:59 pm #
Being of Scots heritage myself, I would not recommend the wearing of kilts around here- at least not til August.
David in Oshkosh on 29 Jan 2009 at 7:17 pm #
Perhaps a class field trip is in order?
In The Truman Show (filmed in part in Seaside, FL), there are a number of men in B shorts and jackets and ties on Seahaven Island. Some of them ride bikes. They look pretty dumb, too.
emritus Minnesota biologist on 29 Jan 2009 at 7:51 pm #
Jimmy,
They do, or at least they did when I was there in the ’40s. That was when they still allowed NO motor vehicles on the islands. I was a teenager, that was my first flight, and we got there in a DC-3, out of LaGuardia. Idlewild, now JFK, had not been built yet. Cheers.
Bob in Michigan on 29 Jan 2009 at 9:03 pm #
OK, I had a Bermuda shorts moment. It was 1957, I’d just finished a second year at U of Michigan, and I wore Bermuda shorts, knee socks, sports shirt and sports jacket on an overnight train from Detroit to my dad’s home in Washington DC. It was a personal low; I’d flunked out, 4 E’s and a D, and on his nickel. Took a few years, including a 3-year Army enlistment, to get things sorted out. I have no memory of catching amused reactions on the train; I probably looked miserable. My memory is that the shorts weren’t entirely an outre style, that maybe they had caught on in Manhattan offices briefly.
CG from MN on 29 Jan 2009 at 10:24 pm #
Well it seems all the UPS drivers, many USPS carriers, and about 1/2 our
sales associates wear shorts. It seems from about ‘ice out’ until first
snow fall.
Russell on 29 Jan 2009 at 11:37 pm #
I’ve spent a fair bit of time working in Bermuda over the past two-and-a-half years. Yes, that’s official office wear. It’s weird enough with navy or black shorts, but it is quite incongruous to most non-Bermudians to see a man dressed with a shirt and tie, a navy sport coat, and bright red shorts. Or green. Or pink. Pink is sort of Bermuda’s national colour, mostly due to the pink sands at the beaches. It’s the most common house colour, the buses are pink and blue, and it’s pretty much everywhere.
According to travel documentation, Bermuda shorts are official dress uniforms for the ceremonial occasions, and diplomats and politicians even greet the Queen, when she visits, wearing Bermuda shorts. (The diplomats and politicians wear them, that is; the Queen does not.)
Sheila in Ohio on 30 Jan 2009 at 7:34 am #
Bermuda sounds pretty good about now. We actually had snow days from work here this week. I found an article about Bermuda shorts which has a couple of pictures, you can see it here:
http://www.bermuda-online.org/shorts.htm
Bill on 30 Jan 2009 at 7:37 am #
Just read “Bermuda low”. When the college opened the new clubhouse I was asked to play the pipes. so naturaly I wore the kilt. Big mistake. It certenly was “Pretty brutal.”"
Jake from Somerville MA on 30 Jan 2009 at 7:40 am #
I can vouch for that – I went down there last year, and saw all these short suits. Sad part is that I didn’t even realize that they were Bermuda shorts on their home turf! Waaayy too many dark and stormys….
Quemegosum on 30 Jan 2009 at 9:55 am #
I cannot believe that there are no comments. We are freezing your know what up here in the Northeast. I would love to be in Bermuda now but because of the brutal fact of the lost value of retirement I can only do as Arlo, wear my Bermuda shorts in the cold of the house. Oh, well, spring and summer will come after the snow.
debbie on 30 Jan 2009 at 5:32 pm #
Ah, well, he made it home alive…This is on the level of the cat at work day, which I enjoyed so much…Arlo’s a trick all right…I just hope Janis tried to discourage him before he went to work like this…and she seems entirely sympathic in the last couple of panels. I thought the first time I saw this (a long time ago) that he was wearing a kilt and that was why he was not sent home to change, but those knees look REAL. I understand from reading your comments, that you look in a mirror to draw things properly, hmmmmm.
Bill from Paducah on 30 Jan 2009 at 6:31 pm #
Having been to business meetings in Bermuda (is that an oxymoron?), I can attest to the look. It’s really kind of neat, but I expect I’d get the same reaction as Arlo if I try it here. Here happens to be Paducah KY, which has been hit by the ice storm and power outages. I’m one of the fortunate ones. I picked up my mother and went to my sisters house where they no power, but do have heat from gas logs in the fireplace. My power, cell service and cable is back on after three days, but I hurt for some of my neighboring counties which may be without power, phone and water for up as long as 30 days!
John in Renton, WA on 30 Jan 2009 at 6:37 pm #
Reminds me of the day 30+ years ago in elementary school when my mother sent me to school in shorts. Because of the reaction of my peers, I haven’t worn shorts to school or work since then.
Symply Fargone on 31 Jan 2009 at 3:43 pm #
This reminds me of one New Years Eve a friend of ours decided to have a formal party as she had lost weight and wanted to show off her dress. A wild friend of ours suggested that all the women dress formally but all the men in our group should attend in kilts; we did. It was a great party and scene. The hostess wound up jealous of our kilts by the end of the party. And I am Symply Fargone
kimbis on 31 Jan 2009 at 5:06 pm #
Love the Jan. 31 comic about none of the “feline” teams in the NFL being in the SuperBowl.
On the day the Lions cemented their spot in the record books with a 0-16 season I went to a concert. One of the guys came out wearing a Detroit Lion’s jersey halfway through. The audience booed. He took the mike and said “Now how can you boo that kind of consistency?”. (He then took that shirt off to reveal one from the local University … and removed THAT one to reveal a Red Wings jersey. MUCH more applause for those.)
Maybe some high school team will play the Lions to rebuild their confidence.
The Cleeker on 01 Feb 2009 at 12:29 pm #
Real comic fans will like today’s Charles Schultz memorial in userfriendly.
http://www.userfriendly.org/
If you are not viewing this comic on Sunday; you can use the “pencil” below the cartoon to “go back to Sunday.”
I believe Charles Schultz was a fave of yours, nes pas???
Matthew on 02 Feb 2009 at 9:41 am #
Is this happening to anyone else? When I click on the bar above to read the new strip, I’m not taken to today’s date, but to January 29th.
Karnstein on 02 Feb 2009 at 11:44 am #
>>Andy on 29 Jan 2009 at 3:22 pm #
For whatever reason, while the Bermuda native could pull this off and look natural and professional, the others who tried looked a little like Arlo in this cartoon.<<
Its like kilts – in Edinbugh, I see guys in kilts and they all look fantastic. In London, local guys who try to wear kilts (say for a wedding) just look wrong. May be somehting to do with how comfortable you are with a different style of dress…
emritus Minnesota biologist on 02 Feb 2009 at 11:51 am #
About the weather: Bemidji’s January thaw came in January this year, 31 January to be exact. Our January thaw often doesn’t come until February or March. This morning, Groundhog Day, it was -10F. There are still fish houses on our lakes, and cars/pickups drivng out to them.
We don’t need a woodchuck or a European badger (apparently a Dachs was the original weather forecaster in Germany). Here, there will always be at least six more weeks of winter after 2 February, until global climate change progresses further.
Susan in NC on 02 Feb 2009 at 2:30 pm #
To Matthew:
Yes, when you click on the tiny strip it only takes you to the strip for the date the posting was made which was on January 29. JJ said since so many people comment on the current strip in the newspaper on that date that if someone on a future date is reading the post, it would be confusing to not know what strip is being referred to. (That’s an awkward sentence – hope you can make sense out of it).