Different people have different associations and landmarks. Time passes, things change, and the outward signs can be quite distinct. Today is the day to retire the hat.
A cheap straw hat might seem like a silly signpost, but this hat has been through a lot. Purchased from an Army surplus store a few years back, the hat has traveled all over the state. Six different race tracks have hosted the hat. Countless beach days at Zuma and Newport. Vacations with the boy at Big Bear Lake, Pismo Beach, and other places I've forgotten. The hat kept the sun off me in good times and bad, crazy times and sane (sane?!?), and through the interesting and the mundane.
But at some point, things start to fray and fail. In the grand scheme of things the passing of a hat (in the retirement rather than financial sense) is pretty insignificant. I suppose most wouldn't think twice about just tossing the hat and buying a new one. I'll have to pick up a new hat as I've seen far too much sun in my days. And this one will make its way out to trash bin. But the experience remain - at least the ones I've captured in words and pictures.
Big Bear Lake, Aug 2006
