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| Sign seen in Pharmacy, Gort, County Galway, Ireland January 2013 |
My father was one of the original handkerchief men. Never without one, he perfected its multiple uses. Runny nose? He'd attack it with his hanky in his suit coat pocket, swiping snot from your nose to your chin. Dirty face? He'd correct the problem with the other side of the same cloth (if you were lucky) well moistened with a healthy amount of daddy spit.
Skinned knee? He'd wrap his now slightly gunky rag around the knee tying it TIGHT to prevent any possible hemorrhage. Impromptu "Pin the Tail on The Donkey " game ? He was at the ready wrapping his bandanna around your eyes...our EYES for crying out loud. No wonder 5 of out 6 of us ended up wearing glasses.
Cold? The handkerchief became a scarf or worse yet, a babushka. Grocery shopping? The hanky became an instant fruit basket, perfect for grapes both green and purple. Or maybe they were purple going in the cloth square and became green after residence in the bacteria ridden hostel.
Yup, my dad was the king of handkerchief etiquette. He never left home without it.
Good quality plain white kitchen roll. One carefully folded piece in the left pocket; another carefully folded piece in the right. Never without them. Done!
ReplyDeleteThat cartoon - as a point of interest - was drawn by H.E. Bateman, the man who drew the cartoon of 'The Man Who Ordered A Whisky and Soda in The Pump Room' - right here in little old Bath!
ReplyDeleteI learned how to iron, young, ironing stacks of my Dad's handkerchiefs. A clean one for every morning.
ReplyDeleteCro. A "kitchen roll" eh? Dad bought his in packs at Kmart. And I do remember the white ones were special
ReplyDeleteTom. Thanks for the info. My dad worked as a commercial artist in the 60's and some of his cartoons looked quite a bit like Mr Batemans. I think that is why I was so drawn to the ad when I saw it while walking the streets of Ireland
ReplyDeleteAnon. Me too. Which is why I DO NOT own an ironing board now
ReplyDeleteMy father carries a fresh handkerchief everyday and I seem to have the ladies version in all my coat pockets - heck I even have one in my barn coat.
ReplyDeleteSeems the older I get the runnier my nose is.
When we lived in Japan it was an eye opener to me to see all the various high brand super expensive designer names selling handkerchiefs in the department stores - that is not something I have ever seen here at home.
My dad, too! He always carried a 'bandana' print hanky in his back pocket. After he died, I brought some of them home with me. Softest fabric ever.
ReplyDeleteMy dad also always had a handkerchief. I learned how to iron by ironing them. When i was having a cleanout around Christmas, i found an ancient ladies hanky with a poinsettia pattern on it. I have been using it since i found it, dutifully washing it and letting it dry on the line. But i can't bring myself to break out the iron. I just end up jamming the thing in my pocket.
ReplyDeleteLate FIL was a hanky man, too. Was thrilled the Christmas i gave him a dozen white hankies.
Martha,. in Chicago when I was a kid Sears used to sell their own special brand but haven't seen that here in decades
ReplyDeleteSusan, yes that was the good thing about my dads hanky's. They were old, they were worn, they were soft, they were HIM.
Megan. So many of us have the hanky memories but few of us use them now which menas our kids won't know what they are. Maybe you can start a new trend with your Poinsettia line hmmmmm?
I'm so glad we have automatic cloths washers now. lol
ReplyDeleteMy Grandpa and my father always had a handkerchief in their pocket. While my grandmother and my mother always had a paper hanky stuffed up their sleeve or stashed in their brassiere!
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