Some of you might remember my old quicksilver hat. Mesh backing, grass front and beak. I loved that hat, and it fit just perfectly. Well, over time the grass began to tear and fall apart, and eventually my hat had no more grass, and it looked ridiculous. But I still wore it because it was all that I had. During the summer, I spent many of my days off trying to find a replacement, but had no luck. I almost gave up hope after looking on all sorts of websites because I just couldn’t find one that I liked. In my hat searching travels, I discovered how many hats now are made all hippity-hop-like. They have this trucker style crown that goes up way too high, and the beaks are huge and flat, and you’re suppose to wear them all crooked to the side without bending the beak to your desires arch, because then you’re really cool. Well, you know what? I don’t want one of those hats. And it didn't seem like I was ever going to be the proud owner of another hat because a Ben Pavey hat was way too hard to find, for all I knew, they were extinct. It was a bittersweet ending.
Until last night.

My parents returned from a well-deserved vacation to Florida and cruise to the Bahama’s. Well, I had the privilege of seeing them as they returned to Toronto last night and they came bearing gifts and to my dismay, one of these gifts was a new hat. I was nervous even pulling it out of the bag because I anticipated this to be another lost cause hat. I pulled it out, and sure enough it didn’t look that bad… In fact, this hat appeared to have some great potential. I stood up, held this new accessory in my hands, and tightly closed my eyes. I sure hope this fits and I like it. I really don’t want to be disappointed with a gift from my parents. I want to like it.. please, please, please. I stared down at the floor as I placed the hat on my head, a nice fit… now the determining moment… Sweaty palms, a panic-stricken face, biting my bottom lip so hard I could’ve sworn it burst with blood. Like a slow-motion film, as the handsome main character leans in for the first kiss under the dimly lit porch light with the girl of his dreams, I slowly raised my head to peer into my reflection in the mirror…

Thank you mom and dad. you did good. you did real good.