Keg,
I've learned to let go.
Good on you.
As an outback charter pilot, the only tools of the trade I needed was a pair of cheap DC's when in the cockpit, and an Akubra hat when out of it.
The bling my employer asks me to wear these days is for passenger perception. Otherwise I'd happily don the T-shirt and DC's of old.
The concept of a dicky insignia on my shirt has never made me feel like a pilot, and I worry about those upon who's ego it depends, I really do.
I think the only time my kids have actually seen me wearing wings is when Mum and the kids surprised me at the gate one time. Normally the wings and stripes come off the minute I leave the airport.
Oh, and framer, neither does the badge on my 4wd represent my ability as an off-roader... as I've constantly repeated to all the land rover drivers I've had to recover with my Hilux
