Monday, April 26, 2010

Tie a Day, Number 96

I have been running a bit behind lately, so I am sharing last Thursday's tie on the following Monday... Like anyone is keeping records!

This paisley wonder is a little thin for me and I think it is some sort of a fabric blend tie. If I were to grade this tie on a "Ties I Like Scale," I would give it a 5, but only because of the intricate paisley.

Manufactured in the 80's, this tie has been hanging in my closest for a long time. My father gave this tie to me early in my teaching career. When I was first hired as a teacher in the early part of 1990, I was told I needed to wear a tie every day for work. When I told my dad about my new dress requirements, he asked me to follow him up to his room. I remember standing there in front of his closet with my arm sticking straight out as he draped 20, or 30 ties over it.

Every visit back home, he would give me a couple of more ties. Over the first 3 or 4 years in teaching, my tie collection grew incredibly fast. Pants and shirts you can grow out of, or wear out. Sometimes they even go out of style, but I have found that ties can hang around almost forever.

I am pretty sure my father was only making room for new ties and giving me the ones he didn't like, but that is how hand me downs work, isn't it? Perhaps all of the ties he gave me were of little consequence to him, but to me, they have made a lasting impression.

1 comment:

Cliff Spears said...

I couldn't agree with you more. Ties can really last for generations, especially blue ties! The color is not a fad that goes away after a couple of years, like brown and fuchsia. That blue tie right there looks really great, Al. Be sure to hand it over to your sons and grandsons!