Never go out in dirty underwear

Your mother told you: Always put on clean underwear; what if you’re in an accident and have to go to the hospital? (Moms never did focus much on the fact that if you ended up at the Emergency Room, the cleanliness of your undergarments was going to be the least of your worries.)

The corollary to this dictim -- never dash out in a grubby T-shirt, because you’re sure to run into someone you know (and they invariably are dressed better!) – is undeniably true.

Now, with a 10-hour-plus day of flying on my agenda, a business suit was out of the question. (And hey, my T-shirt is clean!)

But of course, I did see Miamians I knew. Lawyer Bob Parks and wife Lyn are heading to Vegas via L.A. (“we couldn’t get seats on the direct flight,’’ Bob said.) And art collector Rosa de la Cruz, barely finished hosting 2,000 Art Basel Miami Beach visitors who visited her collection at home, was dashing out to Los Angeles to work with an installation by a favorite artist at LA MOCA, the museum of contemporary art. She’s returning on my flight … but a day later.