Stories from the Stringam Family Ranches of Southern Alberta

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



Monday, October 26, 2015

Church Bunnies

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.
Where it ended up, only big brother, George, knows.

When he passed away, Dad still had quite a collection of ties.
Long.
Cork.
Bow.
Feather.
Bolo.
But not one of them had polka dots.
Real or imagined.

14 comments:

  1. Oh this is a GREAT story!!! Your dad must have been so embarrassed!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It says a huge amount about your father. Someone must have noticed - and no-one said anything, or very obviously thought worse of him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Never thought about that . . . but you're right. Certainly no on ever jibbed him about it! :)

      Delete
  3. Oh. Dear. But I'm sure with your father's sense of humour, he DID think it was funny!

    George, are you wearing that tie??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so right, Jenny!
      Yeah, George. There are people who want to know!

      Delete
  4. And wait now, what's this about feather ties? cork ties? ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All true! He had a tie made from pheasant feathers. Gorgeous! And another that I brought him back from Corsica. Thin, thin sliced cork made into a bow tie. He wore them both - tie rebel that he was!

      Delete
  5. What a great story. I have a feeling your brother definitely knows where that tie is :)!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can't help wondering how many church members noticed the bunnies and what did they think of it? Another of those "we'll never know" moments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There must have been a lot of sniggering behind hands! :)

      Delete
  7. That is hilarious! Sounds like something my dad would have done...on purpose!

    ReplyDelete

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