Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

From the 50s and 60s to today . . .



Sunday, April 22, 2012

Bunnies in Church


What do you wear to Church?

As a rancher, during the work week, Dad was usually seen in work shirts and pants.
Heavy boots.
Leather gloves.
But on Sundays, all of that changed.
He would appear, dignified and tidy, in 'church' attire.
Suit.
White shirt.
Polished boots.
And a tie.
Usually, Dad chose his own ties.
He had good taste.
Well . . . conservative taste.
No garish patterns.
No fluorescent colours.
Yep. Conservative.
But one of his ties stands out in my memory.
One that . . . wasn't conservative.
It was a quiet, dark tie.
With tiny, white polka-dots.
His favourite.
He wore it for three years.
And that is hilarious.
Maybe I should explain . . .
One day, just after church, I was giving my dad a hug.
Something I did often.
But now I was getting tall enough that his tie and my eyes were pretty much on the same level.
I buried my face in his clean, white shirt.
Then I opened my eyes.
And saw . . . dots.
No . . . wait . . . they weren't dots.
They were . . . something else.
I grabbed his tie and examined it closely.
Huh.
“Dad, do you know what's on this tie?”
“Polka-dots,” came the ready answer.
I lifted the end of the tie up to his face and held it there.
He looked.
Then took the tie from me and looked again.
A bit more carefully.
“Oh,” he said.
That tie he had been wearing for the past three years.
Teaching and/or officiating in church.
Before lots and lots of people.
That tie.
Well, the tiny, regular pattern?
Wasn't polka-dots.
No.
It was playboy bunny heads.
Tiny little white playboy bunny heads.
My dad had been a leader in our local church congregation for three years . . .
Wearing a tie with playboy bunny heads on it.
See? Hilarious.
I think he thought it was funny, too.
But the tie disappeared.
Never to be seen again.

Dad still has quite a collection of ties.
Long.
Cork.
Bow.
Feather.
Bolo.
But not one of them has polka dots.
Real or imagined.

28 comments:

  1. Awww...he LIKED that tie and you ruined it for him. Just imagine if you had kept your little secret and then every Sunday had your own private little giggle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rats! I never thought of that! He probably knew all along. And I messed it up. Sigh. Poor Daddy.

      Delete
  2. News flash: He never knew it until it was pointed out to him. I actually latched onto it and I think I still have it somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AHA!!! I so want to see that tie!!! I had no idea that it still existed!

      Delete
  3. Aww! You spoiled his admiration for his best tie.lol
    I agree with baby john/delores
    You should have kept it a secret and had one on him,
    especially since he liked to pull pranks on people lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so slow. Why didn't I think of that? It could have been my own private little joke!!! :(

      Delete
  4. Very cute story... made me chuckle. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. The rabbit is a symbol of fertility anciently,it's procreation skills are second to none(aside from rats & mice)This is the reason pre-christian europe held the rabbit as well as eggs as tokens to the spring equinox and the renewal of life.This carried over to our easter symbols and traditions,it's to bad sombodys logo trademark is so widely recognised that people see only that worldly representation(corporate)and fail to appreciate the design for it's artistic merit(like the father did)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ummm . . . I never knew any of that! I should have pointed that out to my Dad. He was obviously just under informed . . . Thank you for sharing! It was still a funny tie!

      Delete
  6. You know the tie can never appear in public again because now everyone knows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But what fun to have everyone get really close to my dad and peer at his ties from now on. Hmm . . . I think I'm onto something!

      Delete
  7. Oh my!!!! lol!!! So funny. I hope your dad realizes that I am laughing with him. I bet not a soul even realized what those dots really were, cause you didn't until you were REALLy close up. Still.......... ha ha. Just the thought. So funny. Reminds me of a guy that use to wear the same tie to church week after week in our ward not too long ago. It had hearts all over it. One day he stopped wearing it. Never to be seen again. Hmmmm......

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hearts, eh? Hmmm . . . you're right. There's a story there!

      Delete
  8. I laughed out loud and I almost never laugh out loud at blog posts that are supposed to be funny. That's hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kristina! that is the best compliment of all, to make someone laugh! :)

      Delete
  9. Hahaha! That IS hilarious!!! But were YOU the only one who noticed, or did other members of the congregation also notice but keep their mouths shut?? Maybe you broke a conspiracy of silence against your Dad!?!?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Huh. I never thought of that! A conspiracy of silence at church . . . That's just as good as playboy bunnies at church!!!

      Delete
  10. Hi Diane,
    What a funny story! Of course, the only person who could break this news so sweetly to your dad is his daughter - good thing you were in the right place at the right time : )
    I'll be giving my polka dots careful scrutiny from now on!
    Blessings,
    Ann

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I, too have kept a careful eye on my polka dots. No telling what they may be masquerading as . . .

      Delete
  11. Oh darlin' what a priceless story this is...and funny as all get out too!!! Heeehehehehe!

    Love it!

    God bless ya and have a delightful week sweetie!!! :O)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Nezzy! I'll never forget the look on his face. It really was priceless! Blessings to you, too!

      Delete
  12. Oh Diane, this story is just wonderful! Based on your description of your father, I can see his reaction to your discovery! I'm chuckling at the thought! Lets hope the congregation never quite looked at the bunnies and instead, thought they were oddly shaped polka dots! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His reaction was pretty funny. He totally had never noticed! I don't know if anyone else knew. If they did, they kept the secret well. :)

      Delete

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