Author: wetleatherdog@gmail.com

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Grimacing For Travel

I love my world map Bow Tie o’ the Day. We haven’t traveled anywhere since the pandemic came around, and I’m getting itchy to see some new sights. I was thinking I might choose where to go next by sticking a pin in Bow Tie’s map. But just the thought of sticking a pin in any bow tie made me grimace, as you can clearly see.

Last night, when Suzanne was at the puzzle, she asked me where I want to go when we finally feel like we can go on a bigly adventure again. I said I wasn’t sure where our next destination should be. Suzanne doesn’t fool me, though. She knows darn well where I want to go: Traverse City, Michigan. She’s just not sure she wants to go there. I’ve read about it, and it seems like it could be a laid-back place to play. It’s tourist-friendly, without being too touristy. And we’ve never been to that proverbial neck of the proverbial woods. Now, I don’t mean to make this post self-serving, but if any of you run into Suzanne in the near future, I’d appreciate it if you could sort of organically drop the name “Traverse City” into your conversation with her. Maybe she’ll start thinking it’s her idea to go there. That would really help me out a lot.🤓🤣

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Got Books?

Tie o’ the Day is a splotchy, skinny tie. I generally prefer wide ties, just because the bigger the tie, the more there is for all to see. I like my bow ties that way too. Books Face Mask o’ the Day seemed appropriate since I am tidying up my various piles, stacks, and desks all around the house this morning, and every place I tidy, there are bookmarked books I am currently reading. There’s nothing new about that: I read, therefore, I am—wherever I go. Since I like to take an accounting of things to share with y’all, I did a Books-I’m-Currently-Reading Tally. I don’t know if you’ll be pleased or disgusted to know that I am in the process of reading 17 different books, simultaneously. But what can I say? I’m in every room in the house on any given day, and I never know exactly when I will be in the mood for reading somebody else’s writing. I don’t want to miss a thing.

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I’ve Been Called A Lot Of Things, But Never This

This morning my attire said I was feeling pixelated. This afternoon I seem to have been feeling a bit paisley-ated. I cannot sing the high praises of paisley nearly enough. Paisley is a hit wherever you find it. Tie o’ the Day’s paisles do a kind of blendy thing with my paisle-filled shirt. Apparently, I can blend on occasion without getting hives.

And the bigly news of recent days is this piece of information I learned from someone anonymously commenting on TIE O’ THE DAY: Whenever I post something about how we should all be kind and be good neighbors, or when I wear a t-shirt or face mask about unity, or being nice, or having empathy—when I do these things, it’s a secret code that means I’m a socialist/communist who hates democracy.

Yup, that’s what I was told. Wow! I had no idea I hated democracy! I had no idea I was using code words for socialism/communism! I’m glad somebody told me, or I never would have known how wrong I’ve been about all this “love your neighbor” malarkey I peddle. Here, I thought I was simply repeating the lessons I was taught in Sunday School and by my parents. Perhaps I should re-think my crazy values about kindness.

Nope.

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My Attire Speaks

You’ve heard the saying about how some people wear their heart on their sleeve. Well, I tend to wear mine on my whole shirt and Tie o’ the Day, and today I woke up feeling a touch pixelated. I wonder what that means. Guess I’ll find out.

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And The Birthday Balloon Bow Tie Goes To…

Birthday balloons Bow Tie o’ the Day reached waaaaaaay back for this photo, which includes today’s beauteous birthday girl, Shelly Shields Monroe, there on the left. This picture hails from 1980, when we ended up together in the Miss Liberty royalty. Yes, I wore a dress. Lisa Topham was Miss Liberty. Shelly was 2nd Attendant, and I was 1st Attendant. For those of you not from the Delta area, and who are not familiar with the Miss Liberty pageant, let’s just say Miss Liberty and her attendants are the 4th of July royalty. We three rode on our own float in the 4th of July parade that year, in matching fabric dresses. Yes, even on the float, I had to wear a dress. At least Mom had made the dress for me, and—as she did with any dress she made me—had made pockets in it so I could carry a handful of Lemonheads, a pen, a tiny notebook, and a tiny book with me at all times during the July 4th parade. Lisa and Shelly and I waved and waved and waved and waved all the way down Main Street. Other than that, all I really remember about the whole Miss Liberty competition and the 4th of July parade was that I kept whispering sarcastic things to Shelly to make her laugh at inappropriate times. It worked.

Shelly and I haven’t lived near each other since we graduated from good ol’ Delta High School nearly 40 years ago. We have talked to each other probably only three or four times since then, but each time the talking came as easily as if we see each other every day. I highly suspect that if life were different, and Shelly and I lived in the same town, we would be like Mom and Peggy: grabbing a daily Coke and going for a ride through the landscape, during which we would help each other navigate the vicissitudes of life, and we would solve the problems of the world—being clever and snort-laughing all the way. Yeah, I think we’d be like Mom and Peggy, but with a lot of Thelma and Louise mixed in. Mostly Louise.

Merry Birthday, my friend I never see!

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There Must’ve Been A X-mas Clearance Sale

Our Bow Tie o’ the Day is on a pair of boxer briefs some anonymous TIE O’ THE DAY sent me. I decided the showy, formal boxer briefs would best be presented here if I wore them over my jeans. Aren’t they groovetastic? I could not wait until next Christmas season to show y’all my new treasure.When I receive the occasional tie-related gift in the mail, I am always reminded how blessed I am to be able to write these posts and have actual people pay attention to them. I am blessed to be able to connect in this way with folks I have somehow encountered along my life’s adventurous, meandering course. The list o’ blessings that have graced my life—and continue to do so—is too long to recount. Suffice it to say this: I usually feel as if I live in a kind of existential snow globe, in which, instead of the falling “snow,” blessings fall onto me every time my little world gets tipped over. I choose to see it that way. I suggest you view your world with a pair of blessing-colored glasses on occasion. It does wonders for your spirit.

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A Tidbit O’ Wisdom

Floppy Bow Tie o’ the Day gets kinda lost in my shirt, but “lost” is as fun a look as anything else. I’ve actually been lost in books today—moving them into organized-by-author stacks. When organizing your library, it doesn’t matter what organizing principle you use, as long as you use it consistently throughout. I’m toying with the idea of some day arranging the books in order of when I first read each tome. The problem with that organizing principle is that it would work only for me, and Suzanne would be up a creek without a bookmark.

I was also going through magazines so I can toss them. In one of the magazines, I read a simple and yet profound quote in an interview with the Tony-winning, Emmy-winning, Oscar-winning actor, Viola Davis. Speaking about how some people struggle to feel valuable even in their own lives, she said the following: “There are all these tickets into worth. In this culture you’re always showing someone your worth. But the only real ticket into worth is that you were born. That’s it. Over and out.” You are just as valuable as anyone else. You are neither more valuable, nor are you less valuable. To deliberately injure someone in any way is to believe that you are more valuable than they are. I’m here to kindly tell you that you are not.

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Stark Naked At The Mailbox A Second Time

[This is a post from January 2018. I was naked at the mailbox again today.]

I went to grab the mail, and one of my neighbors drove by. (She’s Rocko the Toddler’s mom. I know the names of neighbor-kids and neighbor-pets, but not their parents’ names. That’s how I roll.) I waved to Rocko’s mom, but she was clutching her throat. At first, I thought the poor woman was choking. Nope. That was her way of saying YOU FORGOT TO WEAR A TIE! How embarrassing! I am bare naked with out my neckwear. It’s cool that my neighbors know my tie ways. And Rocko’s mom probably doesn’t know my name either.

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Call Me Icarus

I’m simply feeling feathery this afternoon, whatever that might mean. Bow Tie o’ the Day is made of real peacock feathers. My suspenders are not. I don’t wear this grand Bow Tie too often, for fear I will damage or soil it somehow. Not only is it gorgeous, it is also delicate. At a sale cost of around $250, it is the single most expensive piece of neckwear I own, as well. It’s worth every penny. Sometimes I just open up its little box and stare at it or pet its feathers. My life is so not-like-everybody-else’s. 😁

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A 21-Tie Salute

TIE O’ THE DAY sends a shout-out to Suzanne’s niece, Caitlin Cottrell, one of the soldiers sent to Washington, D. C. to safeguard the Inauguration, and ensure the peaceful transition of power from one administration to the next. Thanks to the National Guard for a job well done. Thanks, Caitlin.