Well, Mark, you might feel more comfortable if you were not dressed like a lumberjack. Perhaps normal “city clothes” would help you fit in. 

In your pre-Rivera days, Mark, you used to wear a jacket and tie when the situation warranted. Now, you always look like a walking advertisement for L.L. Bean. 

I suppose we should take Rivera’s occasional hints more seriously and consider that these stories are from the early days of Mark’s journalistic career, before he became a seasoned world traveler and world-famous nature reporter. That might also account for a lot of the poor humor.