What a man is born with isn’t what marks him as a man, it’s what he does.”
–C.J. Petit (Doc Holt)
“Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth.”
–Luke 3:5 (NKJV)
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A person has to be selective. I pondered before heading out on my last trip which hat I should wear. I normally would have settled for my black high crown Stetson, Tom Mix style, but somehow it didn’t seem appropriate. Since I was going to Colorado, I thought of my hand-made low crown hat. It was made for me by Art Henderson of Weather Hat Shop back in 1974. I don’t wear it much since the style doesn’t fit me. It’s low crown, similar to that worn by Hugh O’Brian in the Wyatt Earp television series. I finally settled for my go-to hat. One that has seen many camps. The one I wear when I go hunting, or fishing, or camping; it has fanned many a fire into existence.
It made me think of an Ed Bruce song:
“It’s seen day fade to night in an open sky
Beneath the fury of the heavens
Kept the rain out of my eyes
Yet, somehow don’t look as weathered as I
Hmm, this old hat.
This old hat’s been down some dusty trails
And may not look as good as it did new
The crown is stained, the brim is torn
It’s even been walked on a time or two.”
I must say I picked the right hat. Ten or so people commented on it. One said that it had a “weathered” look, another said that it had “character.” I even had a worker in a gift shop offer to buy it, and that’s not the first time that has happened. There was a man who took a picture of me on the Georgetown Loop Railroad, not me actually, but my hat.
Old-time cowboys would dress from their hats down to their boots. First thing upon waking up is to put on their hat. See, that hat is part of them. It tells a story of their life. Oh, there is a time to wear a new one to some shindig, but for practical wear, the everyday working of life looks at a man’s hat.
There is a lot of truth if one takes the time to look at the hat and then the person. Feathers in the hat versus a brown rim caused by sweat. I really like what I read on Denny Karchner’s page on Facebook.
“They say a man is known by his hat. It represents his lifestyle, his passion and his legacy. We know this is true because it all started with a Crown of Thorns.”
For sure much could be say regarding the “hat” that adorned the brow of Jesus and comparing it to His character. A man of sorrows, He wore the crown of mockery in humility. All power was His, but He kept Himself under perfect control. And friend, there is coming a day when I’ll be able to lay my Stetson aside, put my camping hat back on the bedpost for I’ll be able to utter the words of Paul, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8, NKJV)
————————————-
A person has to be selective. I pondered before heading out on my last trip which hat I should wear. I normally would have settled for my black high crown Stetson, Tom Mix style, but somehow it didn’t seem appropriate. Since I was going to Colorado, I thought of my hand-made low crown hat. It was made for me by Art Henderson of Weather Hat Shop back in 1974. I don’t wear it much since the style doesn’t fit me. It’s low crown, similar to that worn by Hugh O’Brian in the Wyatt Earp television series. I finally settled for my go-to hat. One that has seen many camps. The one I wear when I go hunting, or fishing, or camping; it has fanned many a fire into existence.
It made me think of an Ed Bruce song:
“It’s seen day fade to night in an open sky
Beneath the fury of the heavens
Kept the rain out of my eyes
Yet, somehow don’t look as weathered as I
Hmm, this old hat.
This old hat’s been down some dusty trails
And may not look as good as it did new
The crown is stained, the brim is torn
It’s even been walked on a time or two.”
I must say I picked the right hat. Ten or so people commented on it. One said that it had a “weathered” look, another said that it had “character.” I even had a worker in a gift shop offer to buy it, and that’s not the first time that has happened. There was a man who took a picture of me on the Georgetown Loop Railroad, not me actually, but my hat.
Old-time cowboys would dress from their hats down to their boots. First thing upon waking up is to put on their hat. See, that hat is part of them. It tells a story of their life. Oh, there is a time to wear a new one to some shindig, but for practical wear, the everyday working of life looks at a man’s hat.
There is a lot of truth if one takes the time to look at the hat and then the person. Feathers in the hat versus a brown rim caused by sweat. I really like what I read on Denny Karchner’s page on Facebook.
“They say a man is known by his hat. It represents his lifestyle, his passion and his legacy. We know this is true because it all started with a Crown of Thorns.”
For sure much could be say regarding the “hat” that adorned the brow of Jesus and comparing it to His character. A man of sorrows, He wore the crown of mockery in humility. All power was His, but He kept Himself under perfect control. And friend, there is coming a day when I’ll be able to lay my Stetson aside, put my camping hat back on the bedpost for I’ll be able to utter the words of Paul, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8, NKJV)