THAT HAT

When I saw it in the store a few years ago…“What a cool hat!” I thought…

and since it was the only one in the store…I bought it on the spot.

I loved the colors when I purchased it…but could never have imagined that…

I’d get so many wonderful reactions every time I wear my hat.

Usually it makes people smile…it might cause them to stop and chat…

and I’ve long ago lost count of all those who say…”I love your hat”.

 

Occasionally when I’m wearing my rainbow colored hat upon my head…

It will remind people, usually older people, of the Grateful Dead.

The other day in a store…I was standing by this old man…

certainly older than me…

when I noticed out of the corner of my eye…he was staring at me.

Of course it was my hat not me that he was looking at….

and when I smiled at him he said…:

“Your hat reminds me of a time when I was younger

and me and a friend went up and down the east coast following the Grateful Dead.”

He said they made what little money they needed to live on every day

by selling Dead Head ’T’ shirts…every stop along the way.

A smile lit up his face…and as he walked out the store’s front door

and In that moment he looked a little younger than he had a moment before.

There is a little magic in this hat…when bought it I did not see…

And if that magic makes people smile or remember…it’s good enough for me.

In this world that has turned angrier…I am so delighted that

so many can find a little happiness in my rainbow tie-dyed hat.