Hey! Remember when an anonymous reader sent me this “formal” Bow-Tie-o’-the-Day-connected-to-the-thong thing two years ago? Well, if you don’t recall that event, you’ll surely never forget it now. I thought it would be a great New Year’s Eve party outfit—as long as I had another outfit under it.
Remember, my pals, to play safely tonight. Mask yourselves and drive sober. I want to have you around for many New Year’s Evenings to come. Be well. Peace to us all. 🍾☮️
BTW Stay tuned for the final Holiday Tie Tally tomorrow. You will indeed see the last o’ the holiday neckwear.
The first brother-in-law I got, way back in 1967, is officially 75 today. Merry Birthday, Kent! Here he is, tie-ing one on. Tie-ing on at least 17 Ties o’ the Day, to be more precise. (That middle tie is made of wood, too. Cool, eh?)
Kent is a true gentleman whose quick wit never stops. As far as I can recall, he is the originator of the the term “the Helenmobile,” which we all used when referring to whatever car Mom drove at the time—long before she even had a personalized license plate. He is also the originator of the greeting, “How the Helen Wright are you?” which he always used whenever he called Mom to check on her over the years. She has never tired of hearing it, and he’s never gotten tired of saying it to her. Kent and Mom amuse each other to no end. Oh, and they have spent many a weekend watching golf on tv together. Don’t even try to get between Kent and Mom and their golf. Do not touch the remote.
Kent does not wear a cape, but he is a superhero. He is a school bus driver. Chauffeuring a herd o’ children to and from school, and on field trips, gives Kent a wide audience to which he can properly show off his humor and kind soul. Let me tell you—Kent is the dude you want driving your kid’s school bus. His bus is a safe place to be a kid, especially if you’re a shy or scared kid. Kent gets the jokes rolling and makes every kid feel comfortable and important. For example, this year one of the kids he drives is a kindergartener who initially bawled every day when he got on the bus. After a few days of Kent’s good-natured chatter, the kid settled into the routine. So the wheels on the bus went ’round and ’round for a while, and the kid was fine.
But one day, Kent had to drive for a field trip, so he didn’t drive his regular bus route with his regular kids. The next day, when Kent dropped off his usual kids at school, the principal informed him that the formerly-bawling-now-usually-settled-down kid had had a humongous meltdown when Kent wasn’t there to drive the bus the day before. Now, that alone would be a cute little anecdote about how much Kent’s bus kids love him. But Kent goes above and beyond, and refuses to let a story end like that. Kent now takes it upon himself to let both the kid and the principal know when he’s not going to be driving the bus—so neither scared child, nor flummoxed principal, will be caught off-guard by Kent’s absence. Did I mention that my brother-in-law, Kent, is a kind soul?
Let me quote Mom on the subject of Kent: “Oh, Kent takes such good care of Betty. He’s so good to her.” We are all in agreement about that, for sure. And we are all grateful to Kent that he cherishes BT so very much.
