OLD HATS

I like everything from old worn-out boots to a suit that fits just right. But there's something special to be said about a man's hat. If you don't believe me go find that family chest in the attic, the one with every heirloom from the family bible to the deed where the family sold the back 40 to make ends meet that hard winter. Dig through until you find your grandfather's old hat, the one he wore for years and still holds the shape of his head. Put it on and tell me that you can't feel him.

Tell me you can't feel the blood that was washed away with his sins in the river one Sunday afternoon; the only time he ever took it off. Tell me you can't feel the sweat of the sun beating down on that hat the same way it did as he drove a plow in the fields every summer nearly his whole life. Tell me you can't feel the tears of the stories that hat told on the front porch about a war that took him half way around the world and took his best friend of 20 years.

I'll tell you, there's something special to be said about a man's hat. I hope your hat has a good story, friend.