Listen to the sections of the article by pressing the play button before the words.
Why audio?
READING LEVEL 2
My Daughter, the Fashion Police
by Glen McDaniel
Glen McDaniel is 65 years old. He worked at Riverside Furniture Manufacturing for 29 years before they went out of business. He has a wonderful wife of 45 years, Edna McDaniel, and three children. He enjoys playing golf and attending Mrs. Newhart's class at the Adult Education Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Years ago when my daughter was a young girl, I would try to tell her how to dress. Now the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak. Believe me, she will speak up, so “I am paying for her raising.”*
My daughter has become the fashion police. She knows all of the rules of fashion, but I know none. She is always keeping a close watch on me to see that I am dressed appropriately. If I don’t meet all of her standards, she will give me a very hard time.
Who made up all of these fashion rules? The rules are that you can’t wear black and blue together. You can’t wear a brown belt with black shoes. White socks with dress shoes are totally out. I don’t care about black, blue, brown, or white. I am comfortable as long as I am not too hot or too cold.
A funny thing happened to me a short time back. As I passed by the mirror, I looked at myself, and I thought, “What will my daughter say?” She would say, “No, no, Dad. You can’t go out looking like that.” Why not? I was wearing a striped shirt, plaid pants, and black socks with tennis shoes. “No, Dad. No.”
* An old fashioned Southern idiom that means sometimes the way you raise your kids will work to your disadvantage later on.
