Life Skills

 A question was asked the other day as I was around at Blarney and Barney's place, can of beer in my hand, shouting for Collingwood to win the game that was playing on the telly. 

Before you click away, I barrack for the Crows and whoever is playing Essendon, hence shouting for Collingwood for a match. 

The question. Can I tie a tie?

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Can you tie a man's tie?" asked Blarney. 

"Of course, I can. Can't you?" was my response. 

"No."

"What about Barney?"

He can't tie a tie either. 

Hmm. I thought. Okay, We're all kids of seventies, teenagers of the eighties. Barney and I went to high schools with dress codes which demanded you were neat and tidy and possibly in a school pullover if you were lucky. Blarney went to a Catholic School in Ireland. 

"Didn't you have a tie with your uniform?" I asked her. 

"Yes, but it had the same knot in it for the years I was at school."

Hmm. Okay. 

Thinking back on it, my father taught me how to tie a tie when I was about ten-years-old. It was one of those life skills fathers seemed to pass on. My dad also taught me to tie my shoelaces, ride a bike, drive a tractor, check the oil and change a tyre. All useful life skills that dads appeared to impart on their children. 

I thought everybody could tie a tie. 

"Why do you ask?"

The boys now have a winter uniform at their new school. Part of this uniform was a tie, which needed to be knotted - not one on a piece of elastic. 

"I can teach them how to tie a tie. Easy."

"They won't be interested. Can you just knot them, they'll be right from there."

Hmm. Okay. 

So, my challenge to myself over the next five years will be to teach these guys how to tie their own ties. It's not that hard. A bit

I asked for those pesky strips of fabric, which most men see as a bit of a noose. 

Before starting on the task, I had the next question. 

"Windsor knot or normal?"

"There's more than one knot?"

"Yes."

"What's the difference?"

"An extra loop. I'll do a normal knot. "

Dad taught me the Windsor knot first. No idea why. Probably because they sit flatter. 

30 seconds later, crisis averted, I handed over two knotted school ties, still shaking my head that this was one of those life skill that I thought everybody knew how to do and with the certainty that I will be giving these boys a lesson in how to do this for themselves one day. 

Today's song: