6/23/10 Straw cowboy hat, trashedWe made it to Denver, partially unpacked the POD, moved into our new apartment, and did it all a day ahead of schedule.
How?
By accepting the gracious help of Betty & Frank, who packed our stuff in Maine, my parents, who travelled with us across the country, and Marc & Gianna, who welcomed us to the Stapleton neighborhood and helped to unpack the POD. And of course there were many others who played equally significant roles.
It's 10:30 Mountain Time and I'm exhausted, but tonight it's a good feeling.
As Joanna and I raced through Walmart this evening at 8:30, trying to grab the essentials for the first night in our new place (toilet paper, soap, a shower curtain), I realized I had just officially become a Colorado resident.
One thing I've been looking forward to getting once I arrived out here was a proper straw cowboy hat. When in Rome...
I've had and loved a cowboy hat that I bought in New Orleans just a few weeks before Hurricane Katrina. It was my staple outdoor chore accessory, and it had the grime and sweat stains to prove it. At some point, one of the cats also made a valiant effort to eat it, so it wasn't exactly the most comely headwear.
Nonetheless, the cowboy hat standards for Maine are pretty low, so I gamely clung to it. As a Mainer, I donned it for a good part of the cross country drive and it shielded me from the sun all afternoon as I lugged furniture and boxes into the new place.
But, as we checked out of Walmart this evening, I realized we'd be driving back to my new home. In some small way, I'm now a Coloradan (is that what they're called?), and that means I have hat expectations to aspire to.
I'm not sure when I'll get my new hat, but I WILL get one.
No longer needing it, I dropped the old one in the store trash can as we headed home.
Thanks to everyone who helped us get here.
So glad you are safe and sound! So amazing that a trip to Walmart sealed the deal on your new residency...
ReplyDeleteHope you didn't pick up any clutter while you were there! Those roll back prices and bright lights can lull you into upsizing!
Congrats on a safe journey. I will admit that after Tuesday's post, most of my concern was for Bird and Trane.
ReplyDeleteToday's downsize brings up one of my (ageist, no doubt) pet peeves. Wearing your hat while shopping at Walmart may be excusable (although: overheard woman, "I prefer shopping at the Dollar Store because I don't have to get dressed up like for Walmart"), and I have resigned myself to backward-facing baseball caps in fast food eateries, but you will be called out if you take a seat in our house or any shared indoor venue while wearing anything atop your head other than hilarity-producing fake animal ears or objects on springs or wires, duly earned gilt or rhinestone crowns, or some type of hairpiece that you honestly believe no one comments on as soon as you are out of the room. Even a new "cowboy" hat receives no exemption. The final authority, Miss Manners: "...a person wearing a cowboy hat, along with a gray suit and lizard boots, in a city office building elevator, is not excused from removing the hat — no, not even if he is wearing the complete cowboy suit, with fringed jacket, jeans, and spurs that he got for Christmas. However, a genuine cowboy, wearing cowboy clothes and going about his cowboy business, does wear his hat everywhere. In other words, it is not the hat but the head that defines the man, oddly enough." Until you have broken a bronc, hogtied a calf, or been on your first cattledrive, no cowboy hats indoor!
On the subject of pet peeves, LB becomes upset at the sight of ridiculously low-slung pants on men, so you are forewarned to keep your belt above your ass.
LOVE and start enjoying your new city!
I am well aware of (and generally in full agreement about) the proper rules governing hat wearing. I'll admit that I am guilty of wearing mine in stores and inside my own house, when watching particularly appropriate sporting events, but I certainly would never don one in anyone else's home, in a restaurant, or in my next sit-down with President Obama.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I may just put one on the next time I eat asparagus with my fingers...