A friend of mine came close to contracting Hepatitis C. The story gives one pause. With a referral from her trusted doctor, she entered the Las Vegas Medical Center in the neon city weak and sick to her stomach. After drugging her and attempting to perform the dreaded colonoscopy, she was rejected and asked to return in two days.

Two days later she returned and had the colonoscopy. Not a week later she read in the newspaper that the Medical Center was closed by the state for unhealthy practices. A cluster of cases of Hepatitis C had been discovered in patients who had colonoscopies on the same day at the same medical center where my friend had had her two procedures. Fortunately, my friend found out later that they had cleaned up their act at the Medical Center before her two procedures.

Fifty thousand citizens of Las Vegas got tested for Hepatitis C during a two month period; this was an unprecedented national public health event. For those not treated in time, Hepatitis C can lead to serious illness and even death.

In a strange way, this was a powerful community-building event. First, the clinic she visited to get a script to get her blood drawn did not charge her co-pay. The doctor said that that was the least he could do. Second, when she went to the lab to get the blood drawn, a strange camaraderie occurred. She sat next to two motorcycle bikers—black leather and tattoos, flame crawling up their arms, chains around their necks. The husband and wife team sat nervously wringing their hands. On her other side sat a well-groomed older gentleman in bow tie and vest holding a bible. He shared that he was a local minister. Also in the room was the extended family of a Hispanic grandmother. The family sat nervously giving Grandma moral support. Reading glasses hung around her neck.

When the door of the lab opened, in walked three suited gentlemen in business attire which one associates with Mormon businessmen: white shirts and solid, plain men's neckties. These ties usually have the look of mens vintage neckties. The styles are classic: solid colors or plain geometric patterns.

And around my friend's neck? Her school system ID. As a substitute teacher for the local school system she is required to display an ID around her neck.

When you read fashion articles on men's designer and thin neckties, which are so popular today, they always suggest that your necktie reflects who you are. It certainly seemed true for the Mormon businessmen. They were easy to recognize. The minister’s bow tie was a surprise. Not many men wear bow ties in Las Vegas. A dear friend who is a physician wears one. He is a live wire, the life of the party. Somehow it was hard to imagine the minister as the life of the party at his church. But who knows. Clearly this was not his finest hour.

Besides the possibility of tainted blood, each person sitting in that lab waiting room revealed something personal by the items they wore around their necks. The group seated in the lab waiting room was a small community drawn together under painful circumstances, quite a cross section of society.

Mens Neck Ties: Modern Day Signs Around Our Necks by Strangelittlebird is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.