The
Old Coot got it right on the button!
By
Merlin Lessler
There
is an odd quirk in the human psyche, we’re fussy about buttons. If you don’t
button your shirt correctly, you’re in trouble! It’s a social misdemeanor to
walk around in a misbuttoned shirt. Alignment is important! “Oh my gosh! Your
buttons are one off!” It freaks people out. Personally, I love seeing someone
in a misbuttoned shirt. It makes them more like me and brings a smile to my
face. I never bring it to their attention.
I’m
not sure what sets people off when they see a shirt with buttons in the wrong
holes, the lack of symmetry maybe? We like things to be symmetrical, like our
faces - 2 ears, 2 eyes, nose in the middle, mouth directly below. It sets the
standard for how we view the world. Put an extra eye in the middle of the
forehead and we go nuts. The Tucker Automobile Company made this mistake back
in the 1940’s; they put a third headlight in the middle of the front hood. Even
though their car was more advanced than any automobile at the time, the company
went defunct in a few short years. Mismanagement? Or, was it that third “eye”
in the middle of the hood? The Tucker was a misbuttoned shirt.
It’s
also not acceptable to skip a button. You’ll hear about it, “You missed a
button there,” someone (many someones) will say, and then point to the infraction.
It makes us uncomfortable. Small boys and old coots are exempt from the
“button-fussy” rules. Neither care about button correctness. Nor, if they are wearing
two different socks or two different shoes.
The
next time you see someone with misaligned shirt buttons; don’t give into the
temptation to point out the mistake, just hand them a dollar bill and say,
“Thanks! You made my day!” You’ll spend the rest of your day with a smile on
your face; they’ll spend the day wondering, “What was that all about?”
Comments?
Complaints? Send to mlessler7@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment