Fit to be Tied

My family and I went to the Social Security office yesterday, since my wife needed to change her name on her social security card. We've been married for 11 happy years, but for reasons that escape me she has never changed her name to her married name. She was very quick to fill out all the papers to legalize our marriage in Brazil - the country of her birth - so I am not sure what's taken so long here.

I was astoundingly surprised to find the person in the office to be helpful and happy. If you've ever worked with a government employee, then you have at least one horror story to share. I have several, but that's for another date. So we were taken care of quickly and efficiently. My wife's new card should arrive in the mail in about ten days - maybe less.

After we finished there, we walked back to our car. About halfway back (the length of a short block) I noticed a rack with ties hanging from it. I stopped. I looked. I saw some really cool ties. I really like ties. I am a teacher, and while I am in no way required to wear a tie, I like looking professional. But I also have a lot of ties. How many? I've worn a different tie every day, Monday through Thursday, from the beginning of school until now, and I have yet to duplicate a tie. Ah, Monday through Thursday? Yes. Well, I don't wear a tie on Friday. It's sort of my homage to casual Friday. A leftover from my days in corporate America. Lots of days.

It was really cold yesterday, though. I had to take off my gloves to look through the ties, and my fingers were freezing up. Fortunately, the store owner saw us out there and mentioned that there were lots more ties inside the store. We went in. Hundreds of ties were hanging before me at the back of the store. Each and every one on sale for $0.95. Yes. 95 cents. I bought four ties: Blue with armadillos, blue with cars, black with yellow school buses, and black with purple and white sailboats. Did I mention that I like ties with "things" on them? Sure, I have a few rep ties, but they are nothing compared with my other ties: More boats, ducks, chickens, mermaids, pandas, sheep, airplanes, comic strips, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, cats. I could go on. My wife bought one tie each for her two brothers - the armadillo for one, and another with longhorn cattle. I think I'll go back and buy another with the cattle for myself. I'll give more than a dozen of my old ties to Goodwill. I need to make room for some new ones. Maybe one with chili peppers on it. . .