When one of us steely-eyed, lantern-jawed stalwarts clad in a sage green one-piece (with 27-inch zipper) appears on-scene, male groundlings cringe in jealous awe, females of the feminine persuasion *swoon* from the onrush of multiple heady fantasies, children glow with instant hero-worship and junkyard dogs become fawning sycophants.

Ummmmm, that's the way it's *supposed* to work, anyway.

The reality is that the guys turn and start muttering imprecations about deity-condemned aviators into their beers, the gurlz walk up and ask if velcro holds up under repeated washings (nope), kids want you to give them the official US Gummint pen stuck in your shoulder pocket and household pets view you as a large, self-propelled squeaky toy.

But eventually, all conversations *do* zero in on that 27-inch zipper.

And *you* can find out First Hand -- as long as you can fit into a Coveralls, Flyers, Men, Summer, Fire-Resistant 27/P, Size 40R. Otherwise, you'll just have to put it on display.

Yup. A gen-you-wine Cold War relic worn by a Cold War relic flying Cold War relic aircraft during the Cold War, complete with CW4 sew-on insignia and a gen-you-wine NJARNG Aviation Safety patch -- which makes it a real one-of-a-kind, because I designed the patch in 1978 and the design changed in 1998.

And it's up for bids. The usual deal -- send proof of your Valour-IT donation(s) to John (*not* to me -- sorry, but KtLW has the annoying habit of screaming in my remaining ear if I'm online for any reason other than downloading recipes from FoodTV).

Runner-up gets a Vietnam-era poncho, only worn during the '71-'72 monsoon season at Fort Dix.

Certificates of authenticity included (as soon as I can think of something suitably off the wall recall the proper verbage).

And just to keep John from going all grumbly about handling the extra correspondence -- if any -- I'll throw him a bone in a knick-nack for the Castle Bar...