Bowties

I am intrigued by people's reactions to the bowtie. First, and foremost, people make certain assumptions about people who wear them. Some people expect attorneys to wear them. It leaves people with the impression that you are well dressed (see, I fooled them...)

I found a few years ago that being able to tie a bowtie is one of those things that most people cannot do and it really is impressive. Well, I don't know about that, but it was something that I was particularly proud I learned how to do.

I was flying into Cleveland to speak to a group, on my birthday, and spilled something on my tie. I ran into a Brooks Brothers and got talking into buying a bowtie. Once I had fallen for the "you'd look good in a bowtie" line, he taught me how to tie the damn thing... I got it tied, got home, took it off and promptly forgot how to do it. I had to re-teach myself to do and realized for a while that I had to be looking in a mirror to do it right.

But once I learned how to do it without looking (basically it involves thinking backward at the crucial stage of the tying), and to keep the edges straight (the part I struggle with at the tying and the rest of the day), it was fabulous. It still is one of my few party tricks... The looks on people's faces who called bullshit on whether I could retie it, while intoxicated, without a mirror is nearly always priceless...

Tonight, though I was reminded why bowties still touch people in little ways. As I was getting on the plane, the stewardess (is that still the proper term?) asked me if I really tied it. I assured her that I had, and she shared that she'd forgotten how to do it herself but that she used to do it all the time for her grandfather. She was lost for a moment, in that memory and place, and it made the delays, and the rain, and the craziness of getting on a regional jet gone from both our minds. It was an amazingly poignant moment shared, simply because I had a bowtie on.

Proof again that you get what you give.

D90 35mm f/1.2 1/40 ISO 400