It apparently was drilled into me by my maternal grandmother Elizabeth Keegan Morris Casey who we called MomMom. She probably got me started because maybe I sneezed on her one day or maybe I was a snot nosed kid. When I started first grade I remember her insisting that I carry a handkerchief with my at all times. I really don't remember my mother making me have one. Just MomMom.
She bought me packs of handkerchiefs for birthdays and holidays. She would get me other things too but there were always the hankies. I guess I was getting them from Mom too because I did get into the habit of carrying a handkerchief with me at all times as I grew up. I did it in high school too.
Later in the Navy I would always make sure I had my handkerchief but for different reasons. We were issued handkerchiefs in boot camp as part of our uniform. We needed to have one ready to spit shine our shoes whenever necessary.
I also used the handkerchief to keep change in my pocket from jingling. Something my mother had taught me at an early age was to always have a dime or two in my pocket at all times to make a phone call in case of emergency. Of course that later became a quarter but up until the time of cell phones I always had some change in my pocket in with my handkerchief. Those ladies in my life certainly had some long term influence on me.
Having a handkerchief in your pocket at all times was also very handy when our children were young because there was often a need to wipe something from one or both of them in unsuspecting situations at any time. I was always ready.
Sometimes over the years I would need to buy more handkerchiefs and in later times I would often need to ask a store clerk for help finding them because the packs never seemed to be in any obvious locations. Becky has bought some for me and now of course we know that it is best to buy them online.
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