Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Supply and demand

It's amazing how much meaning a simple piece of cloth can take on.

Personally, I have three ties that I brought home from my mission. Each holds a special place in my personal pantheon of neckwear. One was a gift from a member in my first area; another I bought at the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival; and the third is about the ugliest tie I've ever seen. It's been officially retired from the office Father's Day ugly tie contest. It's that good.

One of my sons left with a dozen ties and came home with nearly 100. And one of our local missions has banned a certain style of tie (the skinny pastel floral print) because among the missionaries it became like the Sneetches and their stars.

Missionaries form a close, personal attachment to some of their ties. Not only do they help recall people, places or events, they help recall how it felt to be a missionary. Maybe that's why we hold them so dear — they're the ties that bind.

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