The Little Things That One Has to Deal With

What do you do when someone passes away?

You can give away his suits to Goodwill if no one else in the family can fit in them; you can refit his wedding ring into a necklace for his widow to wear; you can pass along his prized possessions to his nieces, nephews and children so they have something to remember him by.

But what about all those ties he wore to the bank every day for his working career? What do you do with all those things that meant something to him during his work day and holidays and other occasions that necessitated a tie? These are the types of things his daughter remembers him wearing to church, to taking his wife to Bass Hall to see the orchestra play, to see his kids graduate high school. It’s his uniform, of sorts. Giving them to Goodwill just seems odd, for some reason. It’s giving away all those memories that we would want to keep.

In our case, one tie went to my brother, along with the matching pocket square. He has a perfect suit that will the tie will set off nicely, and every time he wears it, he will think of his father and it will put a smile on his face. Another tie is going to my husband. It’s something classic and paisley, and something he wouldn’t buy for himself, but he needs in his wardrobe. I hope that when my husband is getting dressed one day in the future and needs a simple, not flashy but classy tie, he’ll pull this one out of his closet and smile as well, thinking of his father-in-law, who purchased it all those years ago. Oh the banks that this tie has visited, oh how many Sunday masses it has worshipped at, oh how many memories lie within a tie. If only those paisley swirls could speak…