Am I a Rebel Searching for a Cause?

The question is posed, am I a rebel searching for a cause?  Last year my boss and the Warden of our facility invited me to attend a high profile meeting with other state dignitaries and members of the Missouri Highway Patrol.  Held within the Ozarkian Mountains, at a hotel right on the Lake of the Ozarks; it promised to be a wonderful time, something I was really looking forward to.  All the week prior, I was reminded that this was formal attire was required with ties and all; now I don’t ever, never ever do I wear one of those constricting, sometimes fancifully colorful nooses that many men have to stretch around their necks.  My boss knows this little tidbit and therefore kept reiterating the fact that he would be happy to furnish me with a nice tie, and yet I know my boss, at times he wears these things that are quite piercing to the eyes; in fact countless are just downright silly.

The morning of, I awoke with a plan; I pulled out the black dress pants, the polished black dress shoes and after careful consideration of the possible consequences, selected a white, collarless dress shirt.  Dressed and looking sharp indeed, I drove into work and met up with the disapproving stare of my boss; he was not pleased and had actually arrived with the intention of loaning me a very nice, expensive looking tie.

Driving separate from the Warden we had arrived at the hotel about thirty minutes before him, and well everyone I saw whether they were in uniform or dress clothes, each individual was…yes, wearing a tie; all that was but me.

So inevitably, when the Warden arrived and was seated at our table, I saw him glance my way; however, the glance turned into an outright stare that seemingly changed from incredulity to reproof in as many of seconds.  He leaned across the table and remarked upon my lack of dress apparel; my response while pre-formulated during the four-hour drive was cut short as I noticed from across the room the Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections had entered into the room.  I looked into the eyes of my boss of bosses and stated that neither had our director deemed it appropriate to inflict upon himself the garroting constraints suffered by each who chose to wrap those nooses around their throats. Whew…