The Hat

Or rather, The Hat.

Let us begin at the beginning. For in this case there is a beginning. Cast your eye to 21 years ago. Look at the fashions, listen to the music and cringe. Sorry. But is is 1985.

Now this was my Junior year at high school. I was in band. Not in a band, but the school band. And every year, the school band goes on a trip, playing at schools around, well Saskatchewan.

This year was different though, We did a tour through North and South Dakota. Big time! Now the usual routine was that we would bus to the school we were playing at the night before, make camp in the gymnasium and play the next day. So natually, when you get 100+ high school students with minimal adult supervision, they run amok.

Now while amok-ing at one school, we discovered they had a fairly well-provisioned drama class. That meant costumes galore. We broke into (okay, we were teenagers) the costume room and rampaged, trying on stuff, etc. And that's when I found The Hat.

It was a felt top-hat, in pretty good condition. I don't know why, but I took it. Mr clean-cut goody goody two-shoes stole something. Hard to believe.

So through the years, the hat became my party hat. Every New Year's Eve party, any social gathering of any significance, the hat would come with me. I even wear it skiing, weather permitting.

Which brings us to yesterday.

After 21 year of wear and tear, it's pretty shapeless (although recognizably a top hat). It's dusty, has stray fur, hair (some from my head), makeup (from halloween costumes) ingrained in the fabric.

But I still wear it skiing.

And I always get comments. Sometimes sarcastic shouts of "nice hat!" but mostly genuine comments of "nice hat!" or "I like your hat". And some of these are from cute women.

So yeah, I wear the hat, I get noticed. At 6'2", wearing a 8" tall hat does this. It goes where I go and I always make an impression, for good or bad, wherever I go.

It's probably the one thing I own that actually has sentimental value.

I love my hat. And if you get that, you get me.

I'm guessing that not alot of people get that.