keeping my pants up

I doubt that there were more than two or three times during my years of reserve duty that I found a pair of army pants that actually fit and successfully stayed on my quite thin frame. Of course that's what the army-issue belt is for, and though I never use one in civilian life, I desperately needed one when in the army. It certainly helped, but I didn't complain when a friend offered me a pair of olive-colored suspenders. Though these were undoubtedly partly an affectation, they were also very helpful. They actually kept my pants up. I was frequently asked who I would pass them on to when I finished serving, but in the end they stayed by me.