The
Written Word
This Old Hat Has Seen Some Sights!
I've
never worried too much about fashion. Just as I am who I am, I wear
what I wear. My fashion sense is, and has been, collected and compiled
from the different aspects of my life. Where I have been, what I've
done and what has influenced me from some outside source. It's
different and unique to me as all fashion should be. Fashion for me is
something that catches my eye, not necessarily
yours. It is something that I feel
suits my persona, and usually something that does not fit into the
current trends, but then neither do I. I am unique in my own style and
built a fashion sense from bits and pieces, labeling me as an
individual and a long way from being stuck in the preverbal box.
<> My fashion includes some type of headgear. I have always been a hat person, partly because of my living environment, and partly because I think they look good. Now, in my current stage of life I'm very seldom seen without some kind of head cover. Again, partly due to my living environment, and partly due to the fact that it is getting a bit thin underneath the hat and the vanity gene keeps invading my psyche. More times than not my chosen headgear is an old beat-up cowboy hat. From the years spent wearing it and from the abuse of wild times, travel and nature's elements, this old hat has developed some character. It has numerous stains, dents, abrasions and dirt, but they were all put there when I was living life, and most the time living life large.
One of the best
compliments I have ever had was from an American Airlines pilot as he
watched me depart the plane onto a Caribbean island. His comment was
simple, "Now that hat has seen some things." I smiled and nodded back
to him with acknowledgment.
Throughout the years this old hat has collected a few accessories, numerous feathers that have come and gone, a porcupine quill hat band, a horsehair stampede string, a gold pin of Smoky the Bear, and a Grateful Dead pin. The other day I was looking at it, which prompted this story. As I was thinking back to the places and things that it has done I looked inside the sweatband and found a badly stained five dollar bill. I have no idea when I put it in there, but by the weathered shape the note was in, it has been there for some time.
I'm not sure when I got this hat, but I know it was well over twenty years ago and whenever I travel I am sure to wear it. It has been in the high mountains of Wyoming, on more fishing trips then I can
count, to the Hawaiian islands, a pheasant
hunt in England and the Acropolis in the ancient city of Athens. Where
I go it goes. It labels me as being from the American West. And though
it might suggest that I am a cowboy I am not. I have lived and worked
that life, but would not dishonor the profession of a working cowboy by
calling myself one. My hat is merely a token I keep from that part of
my life.
Wearing this old beat up hat with the pins, stains, dents, and the always present scent of patchouli wafting off me has been a conduit in getting into interesting conversations and unique situations from people I ran in to while traveling or just walking down the street. It's a common bond that I project, and furnishes me with more of a local label than that of a tourist, even when I am. It works as an ice breaking novelty that has prompted numerous people to approach me. From their forward embrace I have meet some really great and interesting people.
I was waiting for a
delayed flight in an international airport when an executive looking
gentleman approached me from behind. He had seen my "Steal Your Face"
pin and started talking about the Dead concerts he had been to. By
looking at this brief case totting person I would have never
thought that he was a Dead Head, but for a
brief moment he was taken back and we had a grand conversation, which
made the wait and the delayed flight more bearable.
Be on the look out, and be looking for interesting people out there. Not all of them are wearing a label as I do, but they are there. These are the people that we want to talk to, so avoid making premature judgments based on looks, age or clothing. Even those of us that are trying hard to be the unlighted souls can prejudge, but we should strive to damper this notion. Some
of the individuals that have found me out
the street, in airports, pubs and cafes have not looked anything like
me, but by some type of Karma we have been able to connect and be
touched for a moment.
It is important to recognize people who can and do feed your spirit. These are the ones we should gravitate towards. These free minded and spirited individuals are part of the source that will keep you traveling on your own path, both physically and in the true destination of travel in your soul. The other ones, the ones that weaken your being are the ones that should be living at the end of a closed and barricaded road marked with a large vibrant warning sign.
yours. It is something that I feel
suits my persona, and usually something that does not fit into the
current trends, but then neither do I. I am unique in my own style and
built a fashion sense from bits and pieces, labeling me as an
individual and a long way from being stuck in the preverbal box.<> My fashion includes some type of headgear. I have always been a hat person, partly because of my living environment, and partly because I think they look good. Now, in my current stage of life I'm very seldom seen without some kind of head cover. Again, partly due to my living environment, and partly due to the fact that it is getting a bit thin underneath the hat and the vanity gene keeps invading my psyche. More times than not my chosen headgear is an old beat-up cowboy hat. From the years spent wearing it and from the abuse of wild times, travel and nature's elements, this old hat has developed some character. It has numerous stains, dents, abrasions and dirt, but they were all put there when I was living life, and most the time living life large.
One of the best
compliments I have ever had was from an American Airlines pilot as he
watched me depart the plane onto a Caribbean island. His comment was
simple, "Now that hat has seen some things." I smiled and nodded back
to him with acknowledgment. Throughout the years this old hat has collected a few accessories, numerous feathers that have come and gone, a porcupine quill hat band, a horsehair stampede string, a gold pin of Smoky the Bear, and a Grateful Dead pin. The other day I was looking at it, which prompted this story. As I was thinking back to the places and things that it has done I looked inside the sweatband and found a badly stained five dollar bill. I have no idea when I put it in there, but by the weathered shape the note was in, it has been there for some time.
I'm not sure when I got this hat, but I know it was well over twenty years ago and whenever I travel I am sure to wear it. It has been in the high mountains of Wyoming, on more fishing trips then I can
count, to the Hawaiian islands, a pheasant
hunt in England and the Acropolis in the ancient city of Athens. Where
I go it goes. It labels me as being from the American West. And though
it might suggest that I am a cowboy I am not. I have lived and worked
that life, but would not dishonor the profession of a working cowboy by
calling myself one. My hat is merely a token I keep from that part of
my life.Wearing this old beat up hat with the pins, stains, dents, and the always present scent of patchouli wafting off me has been a conduit in getting into interesting conversations and unique situations from people I ran in to while traveling or just walking down the street. It's a common bond that I project, and furnishes me with more of a local label than that of a tourist, even when I am. It works as an ice breaking novelty that has prompted numerous people to approach me. From their forward embrace I have meet some really great and interesting people.
I was waiting for a
delayed flight in an international airport when an executive looking
gentleman approached me from behind. He had seen my "Steal Your Face"
pin and started talking about the Dead concerts he had been to. By
looking at this brief case totting person I would have never thought that he was a Dead Head, but for a
brief moment he was taken back and we had a grand conversation, which
made the wait and the delayed flight more bearable.Be on the look out, and be looking for interesting people out there. Not all of them are wearing a label as I do, but they are there. These are the people that we want to talk to, so avoid making premature judgments based on looks, age or clothing. Even those of us that are trying hard to be the unlighted souls can prejudge, but we should strive to damper this notion. Some
of the individuals that have found me out
the street, in airports, pubs and cafes have not looked anything like
me, but by some type of Karma we have been able to connect and be
touched for a moment. It is important to recognize people who can and do feed your spirit. These are the ones we should gravitate towards. These free minded and spirited individuals are part of the source that will keep you traveling on your own path, both physically and in the true destination of travel in your soul. The other ones, the ones that weaken your being are the ones that should be living at the end of a closed and barricaded road marked with a large vibrant warning sign.