Uniform search

Mike and I have been meaning for a couple of weeks now to go out in search of an old Army uniform jacket for him to wear as one of his costumes in Bye Bye, Birdie. Something always seems to get in the way though, and we have been consistently putting it off. It suddenly hit us yesterday that costume parade is Saturday (where the director approves all the costumes) and the show opens next week! We needed to get a uniform and FAST!

The theater had a uniform, but it was too small for him. He had a picture of it on his phone though, and we showed that to the fellow at the Army surplus store just off post. No, he said, he didn't have anything like that, but he could tell us who could help us out: Collector's Corner, in the shopping center near the movie theater in Radcliff.

We stopped there, and sure enough, it was the place to go. The proprietor helped us find a uniform from the appropriate era. I tentatively asked how he felt about renting, as I was dreading spending $300 on clothing that he would wear a grand total of maybe an hour. Sure, that wasn't a problem, he said--did I think $40 was too much? I thought $40 was a darn good deal, especially considering that it included the cleaning when we return it in a few weeks. He was so friendly and eager to share his knowledge of uniform history. He even gave us a Vietnam era jacket to use as a source for buttons that are missing off the WWII jacket!