--- description: A photo of an elderly man teaching a younger man how to tie a tie while waiting for a train is going viral. title: Photo Shows Older Man Teaching Younger Man How to Tie a Tie image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Heartwarming Photo Captures an Older Man Teaching a Younger Man How to Tie a Tie  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Nov 16, 2015 9:59 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Nov 16, 2015 9:59 PM CUT A photo of an elderly man teaching a younger man how to tie a tie while waiting for a train is going viral. The image was posted to [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153736293377387&set=a.66747697386.103574.683387386&type=3 "undefined") by Redd Desmond Thomas of Atlanta, GA., and was captured at a MARTA train station. The woman in the red coat was the first to notice the younger man struggling with his necktie, according to Thomas’s post. After the young man told her he didn’t know how to properly tie it, the woman tapped her husband and said, “teach this young man how to tie his tie.” The older man set to work immediately showing his pupil the steps of tying a tie and then making sure he remembered them. “The older gentleman moved without hesitation \[almost a reflex response\] and gave him a step-by-step tutorial; then — afterward — the elder gentleman watched the young gentleman repeat the steps and show him that he had it,” Thomas wrote. The photo has been liked more than 568,000 times and shared more than 163,000 times since it was posted on Saturday. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4115181/older-man-teaches-younger-man-how-to-tie-a-tie/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4115181/older-man-teaches-younger-man-how-to-tie-a-tie/"},"headline":"This Heartwarming Photo Captures an Older Man Teaching a Younger Man How to Tie a Tie","datePublished":"2015-11-16T21:59:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:26:58.500Z","description":"He gave the lesson at a train station","url":"https://time.com/4115181/older-man-teaches-younger-man-how-to-tie-a-tie/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","atlanta","People","Elderly"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4115181/older-man-teaches-younger-man-how-to-tie-a-tie/","name":"This Heartwarming Photo Captures an Older Man Teaching a Younger Man How to Tie a Tie"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"5 Elements of A Viral Video","description":"5 Elements of A Viral Video","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vgQtqA8c/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-22T13:42:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vgQtqA8c.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4115181/older-man-teaches-younger-man-how-to-tie-a-tie/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4115181/older-man-teaches-younger-man-how-to-tie-a-tie/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```