My Uniform

This morning when I was getting ready for work at 5 am, I was thinking about what to wear, what to wear. . . green t-shirt? No, that's too nice. Favorite summer jeans with holes in knees? No, I don't want them to smell like bait. It seemed that I didn't have any clothes ratty enough to wear to work. All of my designated work clothes were so smelly that I couldn't stand the thought of putting them on my clean body. What an interesting dilemma, I thought to myself. Most normal people have the opposite problem. The average American looks in their closet at their sneakers and jeans thinking that these casual clothes aren't formal enough for their office job. That's a problem that I hope never to encounter.

Here's a sampling of my morning mental checklist:

1.) Hair tie.

Very important. No, seriously. A ponytail is an essential part of my uniform for both practical and personal reasons. First of all, my ponytail sticks out of the adjuster strap hole in my baseball cap and keeps my hat on when it's windy. One day I forgot my hairtie and tried using a cable tie to retain my hair. Not advisable. My hair was too slippery, the tie fell out within 5 minutes and my hair was everywhere. It drove me crazy all day, distracting me from my work. Secondly, a ponytail is one of the only physical attributes that distinguishes me from a little boy when I'm on the boat. While I don't want my work ethic to be any different than that of a sternman's, I do want to retain some feminine qualities in my physical appearance. In other words, I want to work like a man, but not to look like one. I also like to wear earrings in the summer (in the winter having metal in my ears was too cold) for this reason.

2.) Rubbah Boots.

Pretty self-explanatory. They keep my feet dry. I have insulated boots for winter and regular ones for summer. I had a helluva time finding ones that fit me. I wear men's size 5 and most of the boots start at size 6. I searched everywhere before I was successful. They've served me well.

3.) Rubbah Gloves.

Hence my glaring glove tan (pasty white lower half of forearm and dark brown upper half). Believe it or not, my gloves can make or break my day. Wet, leaky gloves= bad day. Soft, dry gloves= good day. When your hands are steeped in bait juice all day, you don't really want leaky gloves. Enough said.

4.) Oil Gear.

Also called oil skins, foul weather gear, foulies, or just plain Grundens (the famous Swedish

brand). This consists of overalls and a coat with hood. I also had a hard time finding the size of these that fit me (extra-small). The little boy's ones are too thin and don't last long. I had to special order them in the mail. These are the most valuable part of my daily attire. They cost close to $100 a piece (overalls and coat each). Don't lose them.

A good friend saw a picture of me donning all of my oil gear and commented that I looked like an "orange eskimo." This look was accentuated by the ski mask that I wore to protect my face from the bitter wind.

5.) Ball Cap.

Also essential. Keeps the sun out of my eyes and my hair out of my face. When there's a lot of splash on a rough day, the bill of the cap shields my face if I look down, thereby keeping saltwater out of my eyes. Also makes me feel cool. :)

6.) Contact Lenses.

My glasses get hopelessly streaked with salt water when I wear them on the boat. Cap wears glasses and has to wash them with windex a couple times a day. I think contacts are just easier.

7.) Layers.

If you've visited Maine for more than a day, then you know how predictable the weather is: it can drastically change in the span of minutes, and often does. Even today consisted of a beautiful, calm morning which changed to a chilly, gusty afternoon as the southerly wind picked up. I actually had to put on two more shirts. This is why layers are so crutial to my uniform. These days my layers are: a tank top, a thin cotton long-sleeved shirt, and a sweatshirt. On a particularly cold day shrimping this winter I counted 7 top layers. I appeared quite stalky and buff, but in reality my bulk was mostly wool and fleece. I was like a little toddler in their first snow suit with arms straight out, barely able to maneuver. Comfy, though.

When my checklist is complete, off I go for another day as sternlady. I must confess, it's the best uniform I've ever worn.