Just so we're clear, that is not a photo of myself wearing the sweater. That's a photo of a model wearing the sweater, on the internet. His face is cut off, but I can tell he's a very handsome man.
So as I was saying, I've owned this sweater for a while now, and I'd never received any comments about it, positive or negative, until this past January. But now, I'm hearing comments about it all the time, and they're all some variation on the same theme.
I look like Waldo in this sweater.
On some small, microscopic level, I can understand the comparison:
- I wear a red-and-white-striped sweater. Waldo (or Wally, for my readers overseas) wears a red-and-white-striped sweater.
- I often wear jeans with my sweater. Waldo often wears jeans with his sweater. (And the J. Crew model wears jeans with his sweater. Are people telling him he looks like Waldo?)
- I wear black glasses. Waldo wears black glasses.¹
- I like to travel. Waldo likes to travel.
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| As of this writing, there have been no books titled "Where's Shane?" |
But really, there are many more differences than similarities. I don't wear a beanie that matches my sweater. I don't walk with a cane. Waldo is noticeably taller than I am.
And the large crowds. Man, I hate large crowds. I don't know how Waldo puts up with it. He smiles way too much for someone who spends as much time as he does in large crowds. I would be miserable in the places he's been.
Yet in spite of all this, I've had no less than five people call me Waldo or make some sort of Waldo reference to me since the start of the new year, most recently at a New York Islanders game, when a fan turned to his friends as I was walking to my seat and said, "There's Waldo."
I'm not sure why now, all of a sudden, I'm drawing comparisons to Waldo. All because of a red-and-white-striped sweater I've had for a few years. I don't get it.
At the least, I don't get why no one's comparing me to the J. Crew model instead.
I'm not sure why now, all of a sudden, I'm drawing comparisons to Waldo. All because of a red-and-white-striped sweater I've had for a few years. I don't get it.
At the least, I don't get why no one's comparing me to the J. Crew model instead.
¹ You may be wondering at this point whether I'll share a photo of myself in my sweater. The answer is no, mostly because I'm trying to avoid further comparisons to Waldo. Strangely, a number of friends have asked me to share the shirtless snorkeling photo I wrote about in a recent post. I choose not to share that, either. But I promise you this: If I ever wear the J. Crew sweater and the snorkeling mask at the same time, I will upload the photo.
