Packing & Hair Ties

Missionaries need surprisingly little to pack for two years.  They truly put aside the things of the world and put on a different kind of armor. 

It’s not hard to immediately recognize the uniform of a young male missionary:  short hair cut, clean shaven, dark pants or suit, white shirt, tie and of course the nametag which identifies him as a representative of Jesus Christ.

The tie is really the only place the missionary can show some individuality and Tyler loves his growing collection:

Justin (Tyler’s older brother) jumpstarted Tyler’s fine collection of ties when he brought a set of 10 ties from the Mexico City flea market during the last week on his mission.

We have a long history with ties.  The story begins many years ago when Tyler’s great uncle (and by that I mean he is a GREAT uncle) Steve was in dental school at USC.  They had to wear a tie to school every day.  So he took it as his personal mission to find the UGLIEST ties, thereby following the letter but not the spirit of the law.  These ties were so ugly, they set your hair on end.  And the “HAIR TIE” was born.

When Jeff (Tyler’s dad) left on his mission in 1981, Steve pulled out a few of his faves to send to Switzerland with him.  Jeff, Grandpa Charlie and brother Brad are modeling them here:

The night before Justin left on his mission in 2010, Uncle Steve left a tie on the front porch for him.  This is the one:

Each Peacock grandson will receive a Hair Tie.   He must:

1. Receive a Hair Tie from the previous missionary.
2. Wear the Hair Tie in public, documented in a picture.
3. Pass on the Hair Tie (or a “better” one) to the next missionary.

Justin actually “upgraded” to this tie:

Which he passed on to cousin Jordan in Puerto Rico:

Jordan found himself a “better” one, which he has passed on to cousin Coleman in Birmingham, Alabama.  Coleman only left this summer, so it has not been passed on to Tyler yet, but we’re excited to see what comes.  By the time we get to grandson #10, the Hair Tie should be really “good”!

Jeff and Grandpa Bruce thought they were funny when they went to an evening meeting selecting neckware from Tyler’s collection:

Tyler thought they finally looked stylish.