Special Occasion Ties
I pulled out a very special necktie to wear to church for New Year’s Day. There are several reasons that this tie is special to me. I know I’ve shared the story of this necktie before, but I can’t find it to update and share, so I’ll start at the beginning. I wore ties for all occasions while I was nursing supervisor at Frick Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Middle management was expected to wear button down shirts and ties. I had neckties for every holiday and special occasion. I think the staff enjoyed seeing the ties and I know it brightened many of our patients stay at the hospital.
Nancy was a buxomly blonde who had a wicked sense of humor. She liked to tease, joke, and always wore a smile. I often came in contact with Nancy. She was a switchboard operator and I often ducked into the switchboard to answer calls. It was a located in a central area of the hospital. One evening I walked into the switchboard and said that I liked her blouse. It was black with different shapes in bright colors. I’d never seen her wear it before and thought I’d say something about it. She must have been in a bad mood, because she said, “What, this old rag?”
I replied, “No Nancy. I think it’s nice.”
She fussed a little more before saying, “If you think it’s so nice, I’ll wash it and you can take it home to your wife.”
I managed to say before escaping with my scalp intact, “That’s not what I meant. I just think it looks nice.”
Because I had much interaction with all the operators, I gave a small Christmas gift for each one. For example, one lady had a collection of elephant figurines. When I found one at a reasonable price, I stored it away for Christmas.
I can’t remember the gift I bought for Nancy, but at Christmastime she handed me a long thin package. She was wearing one of her impish smiles and with Nancy’s sense of humor I didn’t know what to expect. “Go ahead and open it,” was her response. I peeled off the wrapping paper, pulled off the lid parting the tissue paper to find “the blouse.” Nancy had a friend create a necktie from that blouse. Recognizing it, I looked up to see Nancy’s smirking face. Later I walked back into the switchboard wearing the blouse-necktie. Nancy swore and said, “I’ll be d---ed. if it doesn’t make a better looking necktie than a blouse. Nancy has since passed away, but I wear her tie for special occasions.