Months before graduation day a high school senior decided to earn extra money to buy his sweetheart a diamond pendant, which he planned to give to her the night of the prom.  As planned, minutes before the dance began they sat in his car outside the school and he presented his gift to her.

As she began to open the pretty satin covered box, she recognized the beauty of both his gift and his giving, and was overcome with emotion.  Her excitement for this exquisite gift of his love brought a flood of tears to her eyes. 

Touched by her reaction to his gift, the young man also began to cry. It was a tender moment for the young lovers.

They searched for tissues to repair her makeup and dry their noses, but found none.

The young man hadn’t thought to put a box of tissues in his car, nor a handkerchief in his pocket.  The young lady had her purse, but it was missing one very important item: a handkerchief. 

In another story, a couple was invited to the ballet.  He, in his black suit, and she, in her midnight-blue velvet gown, never thought they would need handkerchiefs, so they left home without them.  However, the lady had stuffed a couple of tissues in her velvet evening bag. 

As the beauty in the ballet story intensified, spectators could not contain their tears.  The lady reached for her tissues, kept one, and passed the other to her husband.  Throughout the evening, she squeezed and twisted the overused tissue.  Soon it began to disintegrate leaving little white paper particles and lint on the lap of her beautiful velvet gown. Additionally, after she dried her tears, tissue lint remained on her cheeks and eyelashes. 

Recalling my own experiences and hearing stories like these has convinced me that the handkerchief has basically been lost and forgotten.  Most men no longer carry them for their own use so consequently they don’t have one available to offer a lady in need. 

Young girls seem to never have a tissue or handkerchief when needed and likewise, the majority of mature women don’t think to carry them.  In fact, we are so negligent about tissues and handkerchiefs that they are often provided for us. 

Boxes of tissues can be found in classrooms, church sanctuaries, offices, convention centers, motels, some public bathrooms, and various other places.  They’re on counters in some post offices and at check out stations. Someone recognized a need for tissues to absorb the unavoidable cough or sneeze, or allergic reaction that triggers embarrassing rhinitis, and provided them for us at their own expense hoping we would use them.

Tissues and handkerchiefs meet different needs.  Coughing, sneezing, and illness require the use of tissues.  They should be in vehicles, ladies purses, and men’s pockets.

Dressier occasions require handkerchiefs.  Both men and women should carry them and women should carry two.  Pure cotton, linen, and cotton-polyester are available. However, linen and cotton\polyester can irritate sensitive skin.  

Nice usable cotton or linen handkerchiefs with minimal embroidery or lace are difficult to find.

My recent search in department stores, found them boxed in threes and overpriced for my need. One “all lace,” designed to look pretty for a special occasion, and two with too much lace and embroidery, made them undesirable and inadequate for normal use.  I did find some reasonably priced, very nice ones at the antiques stores.