The pressure of October.(My Turn)

How do I love thee? Let me count the days. For 3 1/2 weeks, I am torn between two loves. The baseball playoffs and the NFL season in full swing make me bounce like Tigger on greenies, and I love every minute of it. In the second week of October, I called games for eight different teams in four cities, in two sports.

One might think I have a full staff to help keep things straight, but that would be wrong. How do I do it? It's as easy as black, blue and pastels. It's all about the threads. The trick is to keep one shirt clean and to send one out the minute you get to the next hotel. There are two suits involved, one extra pair of slacks for a change of pace (or in case of a spill) and ties galore.

The tie is the crucial element to looking different every time you set up that day's "key matchup." Same suit, same shirt every other day, different neckwear. I know it's hard to believe, but I used to go to a little prep school where they made you wear a tie every day. On at least 100 mornings, my Slurpee-stained tie was the last piece of clothing I would put on. I developed a sort of seventh sense giving me the ability to make the tie just the right length, with a knot just the right size, as I ran into the school just before attendance was taken. Some days I would be a little late (I still hold the tardy record I set during my senior year), but it was never the tie that slowed me down. It probably was that last bit of calculus I was finishing over a bowl of Count Chocula. (By the way, since the day I left high school, the only time calculus has been a problem for me is during dental visits.)

Anyway, back then I always wondered what the purpose of a tie was. I mean, really--what does it do, except serve as a part-time napkin, eyeglass cleaner or nighttime rope? Well, little did I know then that it is the tie that makes the old look new again. How many ...