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Codger: The Trump tie

REPORTER FILE PHOTO  Supervisor Jim Dougherty.
REPORTER FILE PHOTO Supervisor Jim Dougherty.

Along with many other Shelter Islanders, Codger is looking forward to Jim Dougherty’s State of the Town address this afternoon.

Codger has always found his major speeches reassuring, even inspirational; the heart of the Island is sound, he will tell us, taxes will not be raised and issues we should be concerned about can be dealt with if we work together. That has always made sense to Codger.

To mark this year’s speech and our supervisor’s long and splendid service, Codger has decided to wear a tie to the luncheon, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, at the Ram’s Head Inn. Codger’s all-time favorite tie. That would be his Trump tie.

The tie is silk, purple with a tiny pattern that resembles woven bamboo. It was “hand-made in China,” according to a tag. Its only brassy feature is the inside lining, a bright yellow bearing a generic crest. A black band proclaims the “Donald J. Trump signature collection.” The branding would not be visible unless Codger flipped the tie over and waved it in your face, which he rarely does.

It would be hard to imagine Codger doing that on Sunday even if someone became aggressive over noon cocktails about, say, the inalienable rights of deer or plovers or hedge-fund operators to live wherever on the Island they choose — even if their habitats tainted well water or endangered wetlands — so long as they paid taxes. Because Codger feels so good in that tie, it would be hard to rile him up over affordable housing or plastic bags or Hampton helicopters. Even small racing drones in the hands of hedge-fund operators’ teen-aged children seem distant.

Codger did not buy the Trump tie for himself. Seven years ago, when he was installed as host of a weekly PBS show on Boomer aging called “LIFE (Part 2),” Codger’s closet was examined and found camera unready. A hired “dresser” bought him suits, shirts and ties. The only piece of clothing he liked enough to wear off-camera was the Trump tie. Inexplicably, wearing it made Codger feel as charming, witty and attractive as if he had just had two quick glasses of white wine. (Nevertheless, after the second season, PBS told the show, “You’re fired!”)

There was something ironical about wearing the iconical tie; this was at the height of Trump’s reality TV career and he seemed merely a clown, a billionaire’s Pee Wee Herman. Fun Fact: Codger had interviewed Trump several times over the years (pre-tie) and found him bright and ingratiating, if blustery.

He had, Codger thought then, a remarkable instinct for quickly divining what an interviewer wanted to hear, then tailoring his remarks to suit. This made him entertaining but unreliable. Codger never took Trump seriously. Actually, Codger had no strong feelings about him. Then.

Now, of course, everyone has strong feelings about Trump. Whether or not he actually wins the nomination, much less the presidency, the new standard he has set for political behavior behooves us to appreciate those politicians who take on the power and responsibility of elective office in the spirit of working for the people instead of for themselves. Like Jim Dougherty.

Which is why Codger is wearing that tie on Sunday.

Codger sometimes wishes that Supervisor Dougherty and his administration were more transparent. But this is a quibble compared to his management and financial skills, the broad reach of his regional consciousness and his steady hand on the tiller. Let’s never forget there are tiny Trumps throughout politics, and some have even served here.

Even as national issues rage, Supervisor Dougherty is going to have an interesting year right here trying to maintain balance among the needs and interests of businesses, homeowners of wildly different economic means and the Island’s delicate ecology and infrastructure. His suggestion of more closely overseeing Route 114’s “eyesores” is a bold initiative that may be controversial.

So hats off to the supervisor and ties on. Codger’s knotty problem will be whether to take off his Trump tie while eating lunch or cover it carefully with a napkin, as the wiseguys do on TV. He doesn’t want to stain it before he chooses – based on future events – to sell it on eBay, donate it to the Smithsonian or burn it during a Friday Night Dialogue at the Shelter Island Library.