the red hat club

when we went to the harry connick, jr concert this summer, there was a whole group of ladies wearing red hats.  curiousity got the better of us and we asked them “why the red hats?”

apparently these ladies are part of a 50’s and over social club.  their bonding fact is that they wear red hats, and other than that, they do whatever fancies ‘em.  it was pretty cool, sorta eccentric, and extremely adorable!!  it looked like they were totally enjoying life. =)

so today i went to the library, and i was searching for a book called “tears of a giraffe” by Alexander McCall Smith.  couldn’t find it where it was supposed to be shelved, but right in its spot was a book titled “the red hat club” by haywood smith.  i picked it up solely because i remembered those lively ladies… and now that i’m at home with it, i’m loving the “warning” written by jenny joseph, which is written in the place the forward usually is.  and it’s so gonna be me =)

"When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example to the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.”

Posted by on 09/22 at 10:36 PM

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