Square Knots

Square Knots

Here I am, an old guy and I still have problems tying a square knot. I can actually tie one, but every time I have to carefully look and see which direction I should push the end of the string or rope through the second loop. You would think that after nearly 72 years and thousands of knots under my belt that I would be able to do one with out even thinking. Like most of us, I don’t even think about tying a bow on my tennis shoes. Maybe, and this sinister thought always lurking in the back of my mind, I’m just too dumb to get it. It’s not like I wasn’t taught. I was in cub scouts, boy scouts, explorer scouts, the US Coast Guard, and I even worked as a commercial fisherman. It’s not dementia, although I do have some of that. I guess I never really learned in the first place, so I didn’t forget how to do it. Who cares, you might say. Well, I care. First, it’s a matter of pride, and although after all of these years, nobody has ever noticed. But, what if somebody did look at my knot, and said, “That’s a Granny!” I would be mortified. I would never again be able to show my face in the knot tying world which includes: fisherman, sailors, surgeons, truck drivers, campers, Scouts, people who sew, almost anybody who’s anybody would scoff at me, point fingers, and snicker to their friends as they said, “He ties Grannies; what an idiot!”