Frequent hand-washing in my job as a medical technologist and the harsh1 Alaskan weather combined to give me very dry skin. One night as I prepared for bed, I rubbed my hands with petroleum2 jelly3 and covered them with a pair of old white gloves.

As I sat in bed reading a book with my gloves on, my husband finished showering and came into the room. Drying himself off, he went to the closet, selected a tie and began putting it on.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Well," he replied, "if you're going to be formal, so am I."

我是一名医药技师，频繁的洗手以及阿拉斯加恶劣的天气，让我的皮肤十分干燥。一天晚上，我在休息前用凡士林膏抹了抹手，并带上了一副旧的白手套。

我坐在床上看书，手上还戴着白手套，丈夫洗完澡进了卧室。擦干身子之后，他走到壁橱前，选了一条领带开始扎上。

“你这是干什么？”我问。

“噢，”他回答，“如果你想正式一点，那我只有这样做了。”