One Friday afternoon, a few weeks ago, I came home to find a box addressed to me.  Because all Friday afternoons are the same, some just more so, it was an especially good time to get an unexpected package from an old friend.

     My friendship with Dan says a lot not just about us but about the small southern town we grew up in.  Dan’s mother was one of my high school teachers, his father was one of my Sunday school teachers, and then, some years later, his sister was one of my students.  Dan fell in age between my two brothers (both younger than I), but I don’t remember much about him until after he and I both had attempted an escape to parts north – he to Chicago, I believe, and I to New York.

     Dan became a fixture at our houses, finally being dubbed the “fourth Segers boy.”  He has a knack for friendship, and over the years, developed a distinctive relationship with each of my parents, each of my brothers, and me.

     He is one of the few people I know whom I can call conservative in a good sense, a conservator of people and friendships, maintaining a database of addresses, telephone numbers, and birthdays.  In fact, he is the kind of friend who reads a friend's blog.    

      I suppose that of all my old friends, Dan is the one whom I should be least surprised to get a surprise package from.   Among his friends, he is legendary not only for stinginess to himself but also for generosity to others. 

     Back to the box.  When I opened it, I found a bouquet, not of blossoms but of neckties (this entry finally moves from ties to neckties) forty-three, to be specific.  A couple weeks later, another box, with twenty-seven more ties (not counting two of those things with clips that I do not count as neckties) arrived.   Before these seventy ties get merged into the collection, I’m going to feature five of the most interesting this week.

     Monday’s tie (11th) is simultaneously my most favorite and least favorite kind of necktie, least favorite because it features the dreaded diagonal stripes, and most favorite because it is from Countess Mara.  Back during Lent, I set aside a week to wear diagonal ties, but it was a three-day week (and included another Countess Mara piece). 

     Tuesday (12th), I am wearing the first Yves Saint-Laurent tie of the blog, a silk tie with a variation on paisley, another of my Lenten themes. 

     Wednesday (13th), Thursday (14th), and Friday (15th) are devoted to another of my Lenten themes, solids.  Yet, they show just how varied solid color neckties can be.

     Wednesday’s tie, a simple gray, is the second Yves Saint-Laurent tie of the blog. The material is not identified, but I believe it is polyester.  Thursday’s tie is a heavily textured silk Perry Ellis Portfolio tie.

      Friday’s simple navy blue tie is the most special of the week, not because of its material (cotton, I think, although it is not identified) or its appearance, but because of two labels.  One identifies the brand, Prince Consort, and country of origin, USA, then continues, “Original button down tie,” with the explanation, “Put small end through here.  Button to your shirt.” 

     Putting the small end through the label is standard today, so that indicates that this tie has some age to it.   What is not standard, but seems to be a very good idea, is that about two inches above the narrow end of the tie is a buttonhole, so that this is, indeed, a button down tie.

     But the second label is what makes it special for me: “The manufacturer certifies that this item meets the quality of sample approved by the USAF.”  That is, the United States Air Force, in which my father served for twenty years.

Copyright © 2006 by Michael Segers, all rights reserved
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