That being said….
Recently, I was asked, “What is the most important thing
that a man should always carry with him?”
I started to think of an answer and decided to stop thinking
and simply look in my pockets. Out came
several items.
1.
Wallet2. Pocket Knife
3. Handkerchief
4. Car keys
That
prompted several others to do the same thing.
Everyone had a wallet and car keys.
Two of the five had a pocket knife, and only one (me) had a
handkerchief.
At
that point, I was informed that only “old men” carry around a handkerchief. For whatever reason, my friends never really
saw fit to carry one. One even referred
to it as a “relic of days gone by.”
Then I was asked, “Why do you even carry around a handkerchief?”
My
response was simple. It’s part of the
code. The man code. A gentleman never leaves home without his
handkerchief.
That
of course generated a few jokes at my expense, but I was serious. The handkerchief can always be used by the owner,
but the best reason to carry one is to be able to give to someone else when
needed. It’s a small gesture of chivalry
to give your handkerchief to another. I
can’t tell you how many times I have given my handkerchief to someone who
needed to cry, someone who needed to blow a nose, someone who needed to wipe
their brow, someone with a cut or mess that needed cleaned up, etc., and in
each of those situations, there wasn’t a box of Kleenex or roll of Bounty paper
towels available. The handkerchief was
invaluable. Something that small and
insignificant by itself became the most valuable item in my pocket.
Having
a handkerchief should be an essential item in every man’s pocket. If you don’t own one, go out and buy about 10
of them. They are dirt cheap and won’t
set you back more than a few cups of coffee.
Launder them and take a clean one with you every day. You will be surprised how often they will
come in handy.
I
never remember a time that my dad didn’t have a handkerchief or a pocketknife
with him. That’s probably why I have
always carried both items with me. The
day he died, I remember removing both items out of his pockets. I’m sure the day I die, someone is going to
be doing the same with me. Until then,
if you need to cry, have a runny nose, or need to clean up a mess, I’m your
man. I’ll be glad to give you my
handkerchief.
As
for the pocketknife, carrying one of those is in the man code too. I’ll touch on that subject later.
Greetings! I happened upon your blog page and after reading your recent post on handkerchiefs, and your position that it is part of the "man code," it reminded me of another middle-aged gentleman's blog called http://mrkeedy.com/. Perhaps you are brothers from another mother or at least kindred spirits. You seem to share the same kind of sensibilities, except that you seem to post more to your blog than Mr. Keedy (a close personal friend).
ReplyDeleteCheck him out and give him a few words of encouragement to continue posting on his site. Keep you your good work!