{"id":343,"date":"2021-07-08T16:41:26","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T16:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/?page_id=343"},"modified":"2022-06-10T15:07:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-10T15:07:41","slug":"elementor-343","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/?page_id=343","title":{"rendered":"A-2 Flight Jacket"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Original A-2 Flight Jacket<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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An unexpected Treasure<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I use a local marketplace app because I’m always looking for tools, car parts, and other random things I never knew I needed.\u00a0<\/p>

One day I hopped on and saw\u00a0 this with the description “Vintage Leather Jacket”.\u00a0 Looked like a cool old leather flight jacket with a lot of wear and great patina.\u00a0 Pic of the back looks similar.\u00a0 Description says there’s a shoulder tear and that’s the next pic – ouch, ugh, ballgame, oh well.\u00a0<\/p>

But then there’s one last picture…..<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Front<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Shoulder Tear <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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It’s the label.\u00a0 “Bronco Mfg. Corp.”, some of the embroidery on the label is so worn you can’t really read it….and looking closer it looks like the lining has been replaced but someone took pains to keep the original label.\u00a0 It looks like a military label – there’s handwriting – and its a size 42.\u00a0 My Spidey-sense starts tingling…<\/p>

What’s got me going is that this looks like it might be a real<\/span> A-2.\u00a0 Not one of the millions of repros or copies or interpretations, but an actual A-2 flight jacket from WWII.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you’re into aviation history at all you know about these iconic jackets. And even if you’re not into aviation history you know about them because variations on the theme have been produced for decades; imitations are everywhere. \u00a0<\/p>

But there’s no way, how does one of these end up on FB Marketplace?\u00a0 Plus its a size 42.\u00a0 The real ones are known for fitting on the small side and I’m a 40 suit jacket so a 42 might actually fit me.\u00a0 Inconceivable.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Label<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The location is about an hour and a half away, so too far to just swing by for a look.\u00a0 I message the poster, don’t get a quick reply so I internet stalk them to their place of work and leave a message.\u00a0 <\/p>

After a nervous hour or two she calls and we talk.\u00a0\u00a0 She’s very nice and says that it may actually be an A-2 but she’s not sure (someone in her family had an original so she’s familiar with what they are).\u00a0\u00a0 This one came from the contents of an auctioned storage unit that they bought.\u00a0\u00a0 I ask a bunch of questions and she has to check the jacket when she gets home.\u00a0 She calls later with answers: no handwarmer pockets, she sends a better shot of the rip and label, it all seems legit.\u00a0 So now what?!?\u00a0 I’ve not had a lot of luck buying vintage clothing online.\u00a0 In my experience its been a lot like the forward pass:\u00a0 several things can happen and most of them are bad.\u00a0 But this is a shot at a piece of history, so my enthusiasm carries the day. Somehow I have the nerve to ask for a discount which she agrees to, then I paypal the money, send her a UPS label and cross my fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Family History Interlude<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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One of my uncles flew in WWII, he was the captain of a B-24 in the Pacific with the 90th Bomb Group of the 5th Air Force, known as the “Jolly Rogers”.\u00a0 My mother’s older brother, I didn’t know him well because he died when I was fairly young, but I remember him as a very nice man and loving uncle.\u00a0 He’s pictured at the left with his crew and plane.\u00a0 I remember seeing his silk escape maps in the attic when I was a kid, and asking about his flight jacket, which my mother said\u00a0 had disintegrated in the humidity of the South Pacific. <\/p>

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Jolly Rogers Jacket Patch<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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My uncle Pat Earhart, (back row far left) with his crew<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Arrival <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"\"<\/a>The jacket arrived.\u00a0 I tried to prepare myself for a letdown, but there was no need.\u00a0 It was incredible, exactly as advertised.\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, look at this thing.\u00a0 And it fits…but not like a modern jacket because this was designed B.C. (Before Cheetos).\u00a0 Originals are cut tighter to the body and arms and the sleeve openings are more narrow than contemporary jackets.\u00a0 So it’s a tighter fit, but it’s a fit.\u00a0 And while I was very excited, it was clearly in need of some help.\u00a0 The jacket was a bit stiff and pretty dry, and the tear was a big concern.\u00a0 Due to the tighter cut of the jacket there was really no way to move very much without stressing the shoulder, but how in the world do you fix that?!?\u00a0\u00a0 The internet to the rescue.<\/p>

My first stop was the Vintage Leather Jacket Forum (https:\/\/www.vintageleatherjackets.org\/).\u00a0\u00a0 I was really excited and posted the jacket with questions about the tear and how to care for it.\u00a0 But instead of a bunch of “Wow”s and “Atta Boy”s I got a lot of sad trombones.\u00a0 I was told that my jacket was in bad shape, probably had “red-rot” and was basically a wall-hanger….wah, wah, waaaah.\u00a0 And it was kind of hard to argue if you’re being objective (and jaded), I mean it was <\/em>pretty rough, stiff, torn and cracking – but that’s also what I loved about it.\u00a0 Have these people no soul?\u00a0 Philistines.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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So while I was a little surprised that there wasn’t more enthusiasm for the project,\u00a0 I learned later that the restoration of old leather jackets (even military ones) is often a thankless task.\u00a0 It’s fairly involved and costly and once they get beyond a certain point they’re more trouble than they’re worth.\u00a0 And I was being told that it looked like this jacket was at that point.\u00a0 So while I was still amazed to have this piece of history, the initial feedback took some of the wind out of my sails.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Fixing the Tear<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Fortunately, as I was crying in my beer I heard back from another inquiry. \u00a0 Among my first cries for help was an email to Aero Leather, one of the companies that reproduces A-2s and also restores them, and I got a very nice reply regarding how to fix the shoulder tear.\u00a0\u00a0 I wound up having a great email conversation with someone I thought was a customer service rep, but who turned out to be the owner, Ken Calder!\u00a0\u00a0 Great guy with a very interesting story (see sidebar), and an amazing business:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.aeroleatherclothing.com\/<\/a> \u00a0<\/p>

Ken was funny, sardonic, and very helpful.\u00a0 Among other things he had bought wholesale lots of vintage clothing from the U.S. back in the day and had repaired a lot of it, including a number of leather jackets.\u00a0\u00a0 He liked mine and said he’d repaired much worse, so the sun started to shine again.\u00a0 He advised fixing the tear with contact cement and a leather patch behind the tear.\u00a0 He recommended a brand of contact cement called Copydex because its latex (water) based, and also advised that the process would be tricky because you only get one chance with contact cement and fixing it from the outside would be awkward at best.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, I do love a challenge.\u00a0 So, I’m off to track down Copydex….which apparently is only sold by elves in the UK and ships via African Swallow.\u00a0 Great, here’s my card.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ken Calder of Aero Leather<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Decoding the Jacket<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The label identifies it from Bronco Manufacturing, one of the later contracts of the war: contract number W535 AC-2919 was for 59,000 jackets issued May 18th of 1942 (WIkipedia).\u00a0 These jackets were made by several manufacturers which created some wonderful variety in terms of hide types, colors, knits, and smaller details such as zippers, pocket and collar shape, epaulet treatment, etc.\u00a0 From feedback it seems likely that this jacket is in Seal Brown Horsehide, another bonus as its my favorite combination.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Deciphering and interpreting the handwriting on the liner is a bit of guesswork.\u00a0 If “Sq 644” is the squadron, a search on that returns the 644th Bombardment Squadron (from Wikipedia):<\/p>

First activated as the 644th Bombardment Squadron during World War II, the squadron moved to the European Theater of Operations in the spring of 1944. It flew air support and air interdiction missions with Douglas A-20 Havoc bombers, first from England, then from Advanced Landing Grounds on the European continent. It received a Distinguished Unit Citation for missions flown against German targets during the Battle of the Bulge. In February 1945, the unit began converting to the Douglas A-26 Invader, but the war ended before it flew any combat missions with its new aircraft.<\/em><\/p>

I interpret the number as 19042377.\u00a0 If this is a serial number the National Archives database returns Steven T. Murray of Fresno CA who enlisted as a Private in the Air Corps on 6\/26\/42, which of course goes with the printed “Murray” above the number.\u00a0 The “Smith” and “Sq 644” appear to be in slightly different ink,\u00a0 maybe it changed hands at some point.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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I’ve got about three weeks until the Copydex arrives, so I use the time doing more research and having more conversations.\u00a0 I learn what “red-rot” is, I learn that the zipper pull<\/em> on my jacket is original but the zipper tape<\/em> has been replaced, and of course the knits and lining have been replaced.\u00a0 I also learn that leather conservation appears to be a kind of black art, and that there are more leather cremes, moisturizers and gels than there are stars in the summer sky, all with competing claims and glittering testimonies.\u00a0<\/p>

As I bounced around the internet asking questions I was fortunate to get a very detailed reply from Barb Carney, the owner of Leather Care and Color<\/a> in Chicago.\u00a0 She loved the jacket and gave me a lot of information about leather chemistry, but it was a cautionary tale.\u00a0 The short version is that its an uphill battle with older leather that has not been well cared for, because once the fibers are damaged they can’t be undamaged.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Barb introduced me to ADV Leather<\/a> and recommended their moisturizing gel.\u00a0 I got in touch with them and wound up talking with Jason Murray who has been doing leather repair and restoration for a long time, and he recommended using organza fabric as the backer on the shoulder tear….organza? \u00a0 Sensing my confusion he sent me to a video of him fixing a tear on a leather ottoman using this method, which was a huge help.\u00a0 The technique is to cut the organza patch, lay it where you want it and then brush the contact cement onto and through the fabric, into the leather.\u00a0 It looks easy, but how can it be that easy, and how does it work?\u00a0 Contact cement doesn’t work that way, does it hold, is it flexible?\u00a0 I have lots of lingering questions but realize its now time for some hands-on trial and error, so off we go to Joanne’s fabrics for some organza.\u00a0 I’m intrigued when I see it – its very fine and flexible but also strong, it just doesn’t seem like it will work but what the heck, only one way to find out. \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"\"<\/a>I cut two pieces and tried it on the leather patch I’d purchased back when I was going to use leather to fix the tear.\u00a0 It was very easy to do and the bond was fantastic.\u00a0 When I tried to break it I started to tear the leather, so it was very encouraging.\u00a0 Now I just had to get access to the back of the tear.\u00a0 Fortunately my wife is accustomed to my fits of enthusiasm and is also a very knowledgeable seamstress, so she explained how to remove part of the lining and then turn it inside out.\u00a0\u00a0 And when I turned it inside out I realized I would need some sort of support for it, so I made a sort of mini-ironing board that fit behind it.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Shoulder Tear<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Opening the lining<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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shoulder support<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Turning the shoulder inside out<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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So I started to cut the hand stitching holding the lining in up near the leaf shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 Turning it inside out was a little nerve-wracking because I wasn’t sure how fragile the area was.\u00a0 But after a little wrangling I realized that it was pretty tough and still flexible, which is fortunate because I had to turn it inside and outside a bunch trying to figure out how to get the inside flat for gluing.\u00a0 <\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Lining up the tear<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Getting things lined up took a lot of monkeying around.\u00a0 The epaulet created a height difference and the tear was uneven and also stretched so it was tough to fit back together cleanly.\u00a0 I created some shims and fiddled until I got to a place where it seemed that things were lined up and stable enough to give it a shot.\u00a0 But I still was not liking how the tear was going together and was worried that it might shift under the organza while brushing on the glue, so I tried tacking it together with some glue dots, and that worked like a charm.\u00a0\u00a0 Some gentle clamping to keep everything in place and then it was time to cut the patch and do a test fit.\u00a0 So far so good.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tacking the seam shut<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Test fit <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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So with the organza in place it’s time to glue it.\u00a0\u00a0 With fingers crossed I put some Copydex in a plastic cup and spread it on and through the organza with an acid brush.\u00a0 I rubbed it in a little here and there with my finger but it seemed to grab really well and it started to tack pretty fast so there wasn’t a whole lot of time to fiddle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

I let it dry overnight.\u00a0 I’ve learned that it doesn’t need that much time but I didn’t want to mess with it too early.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Glued!<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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And now for the big reveal…and it looks great, amazing, whew!\u00a0\u00a0 I’m actually very surprised at how well it worked because I couldn’t see what it looked like on the outside prior to gluing.\u00a0 Its very hard to see the tear, even if you know its there.\u00a0 And its very flexible and extremely thin so it won’t telegraph through the leather. \u00a0 Very cool, could not have asked for a better result.\u00a0 Woo hoo! \u00a0<\/p>

While I was in there I reinforced two other areas that were looking thin or starting to crack.\u00a0 Very easy and its making me feel better about the future with it, knowing I have this repair method in my back pocket.<\/p>

Now, with the repairs finally complete,\u00a0 its time to moisturize.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Very happy with how it came out, hard to see the tear<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Moisturizing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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I did way too much research on how to treat this jacket, and wound up following Barb’s and Jason’s advice on using the ADV Leather moisturizer, and after two treatments it feels like it was the right approach.\u00a0<\/p>

People cautioned me about any kind of treatment changing the color, darkening it or destroying the patina, but I figured if I was using something water soluble it wouldn’t be too dark for too long.\u00a0 I tested a small area and was right, it got dark but lightened up pretty quickly.\u00a0<\/p>

To the right you can see the difference when its applied, the part of the sleeve to the right is the “before” and the part to the left is the “after”.\u00a0\u00a0 But when it has a chance to dry it comes back – its still darker but pretty close to the original colors, and a small price to pay for the additional flexibility.\u00a0\u00a0 It could probably use another treatment on two as time goes on.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\"Before\" on the right, \"After\" on the left<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Coda<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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So there it is.\u00a0 Back together and looking like the badass that it is.\u00a0 I hope that this might help some other wayward soul who falls in love with an old leather jacket, military or otherwise.\u00a0 If you happen to be the type of person that this appeals to, please be aware that I actually got very lucky with this purchase, because while it took a lot of time and research to figure out the repairs, it was all stuff I could do and was not costly.\u00a0 If it had needed new knits, a new lining and\/or a new zipper it would have added a lot of expense to the project.\u00a0<\/p>

This was an incredible random find for an aviation nut.\u00a0\u00a0 Thanks to all of the people who were patient with my questions and helped along the way.\u00a0\u00a0 They were gentle with their concerns and generous with their advice.<\/p>

Sit vis nobiscum<\/abbr><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original A-2 Flight Jacket An unexpected Treasure I use a local marketplace app because I’m always looking for tools, car parts, and other random things I never knew I needed.\u00a0 One day I hopped on and saw\u00a0 this with the description “Vintage Leather Jacket”.\u00a0 Looked like a cool old leather flight jacket with a lot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-343","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3339,"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/343\/revisions\/3339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/longspooncanoeclub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffolder&post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}