The Yellow Smiley Tie
Many years ago, in 1997 I bought a yellow smiley face tie for 50 pence from a charity shop in Wolverhampton. At the time I was a Primary School teacher at the amazing Merridale Primary School.
I was also married to the most fabulous woman, Karen, also at that time a Primary School teacher and our four children, Rebecca, Claire, Joshua and Sarah were young. Two each from previous marriages, our children in 1997 were 12,11, 10 and 9 years old; well until birthdays came around for each of them that year. Rebecca, Claire, Josh and Sarah.
Having married that year, Karen and I were ecstatically in love and the children were fun, crazy and loved. Concerts and picnics, holidays, honeymoon and Disneyland!
In 1998 a film came out with my favourite film star, Robin Williams in it. Called Patch Adams, the film told of an American doctor and of his story from mental hospital inmate through medical school to graduation.
Once out of the mental institution, after helping an inmate with an aversion to squirrels, Patch used humour, empathy and connection to treat patients in a hospital when access to the hospital was banned to him as a first year student.
In the film there is a scene of Patch making a red nose out of an enema bulb to entertain a child with cancer. Patch increased the humour for the cancer-ridden children in the war using every prop available to become a chicken and a rodeo artist! Chaos eventually stopped by the system.
Watch the film to find out the rest of story or buy Patch's book . . .
To this day Patch wears lets say colourful clothes! Usually with a clown costume, wearing a red nose seems mandatory for Patch.
Patch did build his hospital, The Gesundheit Institute. It is in West Virginia.
To this day Patch has used humour, compassion, love and empathy to help people.
I want to do likewise.
My yellow smiley tie has yellow smiley faces of all sizes, small to large but there is one smiley face that is red. I tell children and adults whom I meet, that the red one is me. I say that I am shy and the usual, "oh yes" from a credulous adult always comes with a smile. I may be chatty, friendly and sociable and of course, shy I am not but to me the red smiley face is the red nose of Patch.
In 2022, during my Biking Birder VI adventure, another year spent doing a BIGBY, a Big Green Big Year, a child asked if they could write their name in one of the smiley faces! After the first, another name was written and another; children and adults making a smiley face immortal with their name.
Today the tie is covered with names, some indecipherable but all a memory of a special meeting. Dexter, a 12 year old boy in a wheelchair at the Everton women vs Aston Villa match, who signed the tie after a chat with a tie wearing Olaf the Snowman, also me and his Grandad. Maximus, another disabled boy, this time at Manchester United Women vs the mighty Aston Villa Women match, this time with both his Grandparents. Maximus, named after Russell Crowe's character in the film Gladiator!
There's two of my Grandchildren's names on there; Summer and Amber. Summer adores football and plays every weekend. Strange that she loves Aston Villa. Amber, seven years old and wildly funny, loves to attack her visiting Grandad! The Claw!
Must get Mylo to sign it!
So there you have it. The yellow smiley tie is a part of me. People so often say, "I like your tie." People often sign it, especially children.
The red face is me thinking of Patch Adams and his red nose.
One last story from my yellow smiley tie. The name GLADYS is on there bold and noticable. Last year, 2024 I was in Chile at a place called Castro on Chiloe Island. It was my last day after a whole month in Chile, twenty days of which had been spent with my amazingly brilliant daughter, Rebecca. Buying some traditional Chilean cuddly toys for my Grandchildren from a market stall in the town, I asked the lady stall holders name. "Is your name Gladys?" I joked as I do so often when chatting with ladies met, whether they be in supermarket queues, met when fundraising for Acorns Children's Hospice or whatever. For over ten years I had been asking this of ladies but never a Gladys. A smile, a laugh and a first name given yes but never a Gladys until that day in Castro, Chile. The stall holders name was Gladys. I am now looking for a Phoebe to sign my tie.
Coming soon, Part Two - The Yellow Wellies.
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