And The Winner Is…

The voting is done. The results are in. And this holiday season, instead of wearing/presenting every piece of holiday neckwear I own, I will be selecting one to wear per post. That means you will not be seeing the entirety of my Christmas collection this year. Think of it as me presenting my Greatest X-mas Tie Hits.

I’ve never not worn every piece before, so this will be a weird holiday season for me. It will be much less work for me though. And Suzanne will be happy cuz there will be fewer clumps o’ ties grouped around the house, waiting for their turn to be posed and photographed. She’ll also like that I’ll be able to set up TIE O’ THE DAY snapshots much more quickly than in past ho-ho-ho seasons. I know you will find it hard to believe, but the truth is that I can get carried away with both neckwear and writing. Put the two together, and there goes the whole day! Add Christmas season to those two things, and there goes the night too!

I must hang my head about something though. I almost lied to y’all. I thought of mis-representing the vote results and just saying most of the votes were for my wearing every last seasonal neckwear piece. Why would I feel like I should lie? Because of Joyce Moody, rebel that she is. She voted for me to wear the entire holiday collection. And hers was even the first vote— like, the second after I opened up the voting, Joyce voted to see ’em all. A lot of people voted for that, though not a majority. But it’s Joyce Moody, for golly sakes! Clearly, I would lie for Joyce. Almost. Disappointing Joyce is something which has never been anywhere close to my Bucket List.

If I remember correctly, Joyce was one of my Mutual teachers. (It could have been Sunday School, but I’m pretty sure it was Mutual.) I was probably 16 or so, and let me explain about me in high school. I didn’t wear make-up (never have), and I spent most of my time in overalls or 501’s— certainly not in a dress, if I could help it. Trust me, most of the authorities—female and male— in my life at the time were telling me to be a “real girl.” Apparently, what would have made me into a “real girl” would have been to wear make-up and dresses, and blow dry my hair into Farah Fawcett feathers. The message which I consistently got from people was that I was not enough, just being myself. Being me was not good enough. I certainly wasn’t a “real girl.” I wasn’t presentable without a coat of paint and curling iron burns on my head. Even when nothing was said to me, I saw the thumbs-down expressions of others’ faces when I’d walk into any room at school or church.

But I’d show up at Mutual in my overalls, and Joyce Moody always smiled at me like I was PERFECT. Like I was VALUABLE. Like I was IMPORTANT. Like I was ONE OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD. She probably saved my life. See why I considered lying about the Christmas neckwear vote, so Joyce Moody can get what she wants?

Anyhoo… Next year there will be no vote. Joyce wins already, and I’ll be wearing 300+ pieces of festive neckwear from Thanksgiving 2020 to New Year’s Day 2021 .