Barrie Qualle/Special to the ChieftainIn light of the trend toward extremely worn clothing and boots being worth a fortune, I figure these should be worth at least $900.

Over the years I have noticed fads, especially in attire, come and go.

Bell bottom jeans have come and gone, and miniskirts are also on the list of attire that has had its day. Too bad, I thought they were great.

Even cowboy clothes have cycled through different styles. I have a pair of Paul Bond boots from the early ‘60s with two-inch underslung heels and a toe that is so sharp you can kill bugs in a corner. I call them my Puerto Rican nose-pickers.

I have another pair from the ‘70s that do not have quite so sharp of a toe and a pair from the ‘90’s with a round toe. The current style seems to be a square toe. The style I like and are now a special order, is the ‘40s type that Roy Rogers and John Wayne wore. They wore them with their pants cuffed, something you don’t see any more unless you catch me with a new pair of Wranglers that are too long till they have been washed a few times.

Over the years, I have been amused by changes in attire, mainly because there is not much I can do about it. A couple of years ago, I noticed girls wearing jeans with large holes in them and paying extra for jeans they would have thrown away a few years ago.

Things have reached new territory lately. They now successfully market permanently prestained jeans with dirt stains on the legs. These dandy looking togs sell for in excess of $400. Not to be outdone, the shoe companies are marketing ragged looking tennis shoes with holes worn in them for more than $1,400.

The craziness in fashion is exceeded only by the art world. I was watching the news the other day and saw a picture by a black American artist, now deceased, sold for more than a million and is now the most expensive painting ever sold. It sold for more than any of the old masters like Van Gogh or Renoir

It sold for more than even a Charlie Russell painting (someone who really had talent). They showed this high-dollar painting on the screen, and it looked like something a second-grader with no talent might have scribbled. You could barely tell what it was supposed to be.

This has proven to me that no idea is too far out or stupid to try. P.T. Barnum had it right, a sucker is born every minute. I think P.T. may have underestimated the number of suckers. To this end, I have come up with a great idea for making a fortune. I have decided to test market preworn and prestained underwear.

There will be two styles, boxer and jockey. By fall, I hope to have prestained long underwear. These will not be cheap, as each pair will be unique. I am sure Under Armor will jump on this idea. I plan to staff up and enlist people of different sizes to assure we will have the correct size on hand.

I think that a starting price should be in the $90 range, more for the long-johns. If this works out, I hope to get into women’s underwear the following year.

To take advantage of the shoe deal, I plan to test market a pair of not only worn out cowboy boots, but a pair that has also been modified to accommodate broken ankles and legs I have had over the years. I am thinking these are probably worth as much as $900 each. Check the picture, and I think you will agree.

If any of you have not heard the CD Caleb Sample recorded of his songs, you should go by the Grain Growers and pick one up. Caleb wrote the music and played a lot of the instruments and sang. There are 14 songs, all good and about five that are truly great.

I see different groups performing and making a fortune that have half the talent that is on this CD. We are truly fortunate to have so much talent in this small county.

Thanks to all who made the 10th annual CJD Ranch Rodeo a success. There was a lot of planning, work and monthly meetings involved. Thanks also to all the participants. This was the best ever.