Tie One On

I guess I should give up and go along with the new new...

Men don't always wear ties anymore.

Floyd wore a tie!

As a former tie-wearing American, I am still a bit surprised to see men not wearing ties while attending weddings and funerals, reading the news on television, selling cars or insurance, telling jokes on television, or in lots of other places where, until now, wearing a tie has been a hard-and-fast rule.

I balked at wrapping silk around my neck many a time, only to be reminded that dressing that way was a sign of the respect I felt toward the people around me.

Goober didn't.

I don't guess that people not wearing ties have any less respect for others than they used to, but it's still jarring to see open necks so often.

Howard bowed.

I know plenty of guys who never learned to tie a regular four-in-hand tie, choosing to stick with clip-ons or having someone tie their tie for them and then carefully removing it and putting it back on as needed.

Try as I might, I never got the hang of tying a bow tie, but Howard Sprague did.

Perhaps it's time for me to up my style game a little and stop having The Men of Mayberry be my fashion icons.