Straw Hat Weather

On a recent trip to Corpus Christi, I acquired a new straw hat. It was during the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers annual meeting and trade show. It was definitely straw hat weather in South Texas although it was prior to Easter – which came early this year. OK, so where am I going with this? Traditionally, in most parts of cattle country, Easter marks the beginning date when it becomes acceptable to wear a straw hat rather than a felt hat.

While felt hats are appropriate at any time of year (especially on formal occasions) straw hats generally are worn only after Easter and prior to Labor Day. Those are the dates that basically define the period of warmer weather when the greater airflow through a good straw hat is more comfortable than the heat generated beneath a felt hat.

Easter came early this year. Add to that the early time change and my clock got off somewhere. It is just now warm enough to start thinking about straw hats rather than felt.

Most of the time I wear a cap to cover my bald head. Caps are easier to keep up with, the brim doesn’t hit the headrest on my pickup seat, and they don’t catch as much wind as a hat. But when it is hot outside, you can’t beat a good straw hat. It keeps my neck and ears from broiling.

Some people wear hats for decoration. I never really bought into that. I wear a hat for shade or to keep my head warm. Some people wear hats to keep the rain off of their head. That’s usually not an issue in the Texas Panhandle. It would be nice if it did rain. Then I could test that particular theory.

People seem to have lost sight of proper hat etiquette over the years. I fear that it is a symptom of the general coarsening of behavior. It is tied to a loss of civility in society.

Some years ago the John B. Stetson Company published guidelines for appropriate hat etiquette. These guidelines are appropriate today – whether the wearer sports a felt, straw or a cap.

* The hat should be removed from the head when the National Anthem is played, when entering a building, when you are being introduced – especially if it is to a woman, at a funeral, or when beginning a conversation.

* The hat should be tipped, or lifted slightly from the head, when a woman thanks you, after getting directions from a stranger – especially if the stranger is female, when you excuse yourself to a woman, when you are walking with a friend and he says hello to a woman that he knows and you do not.

* You are not expected to remove your hat in public buildings, in entrance halls or in elevators. The exception being that it is polite to remove your hat in an elevator if there is a woman present – unless it is too crowded to do so. You are expected to remove your hat in any situation where a show of respect is appropriate. This would include removing the hat in public buildings if the building is a church, courthouse, or state or federal capitol.

* Hats should be removed for meals if there is a safe place to put your hat while eating.

Hat etiquette is something that has been lost. I see hats everywhere. Our kids wear them to school and even to church functions. They think nothing of leaving them on their head unless someone in authority asks them to remove them. They have no concept of the lack of respect that wearing their hat shows – or maybe they do.

It’s springtime. The weather is finally turning warm. I believe it’s time for a straw hat.

Hat or Cap?

It's time for another response to An Appeal. This one is to a question posed by Big White Hat -- "ball cap or hat?"

(Hat shown is a Resistol 100X Cattle Baron crease)

Boots are a virtual permanent part of my attire.

It's not because I consider myself a cowboy.

It's because I like them and because I've

Always worn them since I was a little boy.

They're good for stomping through whatever

Happens to be in the way and they provide

Protection for my shins if I happen to be

In a spot where something prickly is attacking my hide.

Most folks think that a hat is necessary

When there are boots upon the feet.

However, I think that the issue for most of us

Is what's practical rather than just neat.

It depends upon the occasion as to what sits on my head.

Sometimes it is a hat -- especially if I'm needing shade.

But most of the time it is a cap that covers up my dome.

I prefer a specific style and that it be U.S. made.

I like a low crown cap, not the traditional farmer style.

I don't like the high stiff front with mesh in the back

I prefer the soft cloth kind that fits close to my head

And in the backseat of my pickup truck I keep a stack.

There are times though when a cap just isn't quite

Dressed up enough you see, that's when the hat comes out

And sits on top of me. This time of year when it is hot

A straw hat is the thing that I wear about.

But in the winter months when it is cold my hat is made of felt.

I prefer a black one with a George Strait "Big Wells"crease.

But if one really wants to dress up nice there's nothing that beats white.

The bad thing is they dirty up and get smudges on with ease.

I guess the answer to the question is that cap or hat is a choice

That depends on the occasion for which I'm covering up my head.

Most of the time a cap's the thing that keeps my eyes in shade

But when I take a notion to I'll wear a hat instead!

Old Tom

The jingle gives him away when he walks in the door;
He rarely arrives unheralded.
On a kid you might think it was merely for show
But the spurs in this case were a natural part
Of the handmade boots they adorned.
The hair's getting thin on the top of his head
But rarely is it ever seen for the paper-thin covering
So yellow with grease that it is almost transparent
Except for the crust that has turned to
Permanent decoration in the vicinity of the hatband.
The holes in the crown were made with a knife
To let the heat escape as it should. The stampede string
That drapes from the back is worn to the point
That some pony's tail will soon be missing a few strands
To be plaited back in by the fingers that are gnarled
And scarred by too many years of working the livestock
That is his life. Fluent in Spanish or English alike
He has worked the ranges from Argentina to Canada.
The wildest he said was the time he was shot down
In a Piper Cub over Uruguay by a band of guerrillas.
It seems they had been raiding stock from the spread
He was hired to patrol by a corporate owner in New York City.
I asked if that meant he was a mercenary to which he replied
"No, I was just the company troubleshooter."
Tom was once known in the outback of Paraguay
As that Christian cowboy because he never failed
To conduct a Sunday Service at his humble home
Which was open to all comers at all times.
His son once told me that he had made more money
Than most people will ever see in a lifetime but
Gave it all away because he couldn't survive
Without helping people needier than him.
The first time I saw him I felt sorry for this man
Who was wearing the worn-out shirt that had
Been patched at least a dozen times. I suspected
He was a down-and-out drifter that couldn't hold
A job and didn't have a nickel to his name. The
Next time I saw him he was sitting in a pickup
With a laptop making entries into a program he
Had written that could tell you in detail anything
Anyone would ever want to know about the operation
That he was responsible for. It seems that he had
Written his Masters Thesis over "cell grazing"
Back in the days before the concept had
Seen the light of any other researcher's eyes.
This Aggie was living the life that he loved
And loving the life that he lived because
He never lost site of his calling.
I'm proud to call him my friend.