My Hat Came Back (Blog 12 of 30)

I do not consider myself a hoarder.  I don't have a lot of junk.  However, I do think that if you own something, you should take care of it and keep track of it.  Therefore......

- I still have the green hair brush that I bought when I was in grade 7 (I told someone this recently and they said, "Is that where your hair is?"..... ha ha ha!!!)   :(

- When I go to the leisure centre I still use the same lock that I used when I played basketball in grade 10

- Every sermon that I have ever preached in Estevan (over 26 years) has been written using the same mechanical pencil.

All that to say, I don't often lose or misplace things.

Several years ago, I won a race at the "Estevan Motor Speedway" (It was called "Faster Pastor". They put a bunch of preachers in cars and let us go).  After the race, they gave me a trophy and this hat.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to drive a stock car and win a race, so I thought the hat was cool.  Therefore, I tossed it in the saddlebag of my motorcycle so that I would have it with me wherever I went. It is especially fun to wear it when I go to race tracks because it makes people think I know something.  :)

Two Saturdays ago, there was a car show north of town, so I jumped on my bike and rode out there.  When I got there, I flipped open my saddlebag and ..... MY HAT WAS GONE!!!!

I retraced my steps in my mind.  I wore it earlier in the day, but I was sure I put it back in the saddlebag. 

When I got home, I looked all over the house.... nothing!  

When I got the to the church building on Sunday morning.... nothing!

So I decided that the only thing that could have happened was that my saddlebag opened up while I was riding out there (I had not latched it - only the Velcro was holding it) and that my hat had got sucked out and was laying on the highway somewhere.

So - of course - after church I had to go look. 

Sari and I drove the entire 8 miles out to where the car show was.... nothing!!  Dejected, we turned around and headed back into town. 

Half-way back to town, Sara says, "THERE IS YOUR HAT!"

Now, here is the thing....

   1.  The wind was blowing 60 - 75 km/h for 24 hours straight.  The hat could have gone anywhere.
    2.  In the entire 8 mile stretch, the ditches are only mowed in two sections.  Everywhere else, the grass was over a foot high and super thick.  If my hat had landed in there, we never would have found it.  As it was, it was laying right in the middle of one of the mowed sections... sitting just as if it had been placed there waiting for us.

    3.  We had a torrential rain storm the night before, so I  figured that even if I did find the hat that it would be all mushy and wrecked.  On the contrary, I think the rain did it some good.  It is cleaner now than it has been in years. 

The moral(s) of the story.....

  a.  Use the things you like.  There is no point keeping things on shelves or in drawers.  Even if it had been lost forever, I would have been happy that I lost it because I was using it.

  b.  Sometimes things work out in your favor, so don't give up.  If I had not gone to look, I never would have found it.

  c.  Don't tell everyone you know that you are going to drive 8 miles out of town looking for a hat that maybe blew out of your saddlebag and maybe landed in a ditch somewhere after it has been out in a monsoon season rain storm because they are going to look at you like you have completely lost your mind!!!

   d.  Certainly don't tell them that when you found it, you put it on your head and happily wore it back into town..... that is gross!

But I am happy I did.  :)