A Place To Hang My Hat...Or Hats

 I'm a collector...sort of. I think of collectors as people who amass certain things, like stamps, or coins, or cars, or tennis shoes. I don't think having lots of baseball hats makes me a collector, but when you consider the definition of "collector," I definitely qualify.

I have a lot of baseball hats.

For me, if I'm not going to church, I'm wearing a hat. I do this, not necessarily for fashion reasons, but more for practical reasons. Having no hair (thanks, genetics...) on my head, I wear a hat in the summer to prevent sunburns, and I wear a hat in the winter to keep my head warm, and to prevent sunburns. To me, hats are as important as wearing shirts, or other necessary articles of clothing.

Now, after wearing hats almost everyday of my life for almost four years, I know you can't have just one hat. You need several. I have several. When you have several hats, you need a place to keep several hats until you're wearing one hat. For the past couple of years, I hung my hats on my wife's antique bookshelf that we used to house DVDs. We re-arranged the front room and the bookshelf had to go downstairs. 

What to do with the hats?

In our laundry room I saw several wreath hangers we used during the holidays purchased at Dollar Tree. I had an idea and what you see in the photo is that idea. My new place to hang my hats.

So for...so good. I have seven hats I can choose from, two work hats, three red hats (two U of U hats and a Lagoon hat...), a Bear River Bears baseball hat and a US Army hat. Pretty much a hat for all occasions, or...

A hat for all seasons.

Yeah...I like that.

Happened Upon A Little Sports Show...In A Bakery

 I stopped by our local grocery store to pick up my son from work. He wasn't quite done, so I waited. While I waited, I checked out some of the baked goods offered at the store. I've been to the store many times, but this time I saw something new...

A local sports program doing a live broadcast, in the bakery.

I thought that was pretty cool.

Living in a small town is different--it's not like where we used to live was huge, but it was closer to Salt Lake City and therefore, closer to the the major sports markets of Utah. I was for a time, a sports reporter for a small newspaper--I had that gig twice. I also was involved with the Utah Jazz organization for a few years. I'm in no way "connected" to the sports journalism community, but I was closer than I am here. 

I loved seeing two men sitting on folding chairs in the bakery talking about local sports. After they finished, I chatted briefly with one of the men. He said they talked about the high school golf team, as well as other sports including football. Like many places, football is king here. I have no idea who the men were, but I imagine they are former players and/or coaches. If I grew up here, I might recognize them, perhaps even know them personally.

It was great seeing people involved in sports, nationally, internationally, even in a small town in Northern Utah. Sports is supposed to bring people together. I have no idea how many people listened to their broadcast, maybe many, maybe few. But, I know of at least one person (me...), I was glad they were there.

That High School Spirit...

 Years ago, I, like millions of others, attended public school. I advanced through the grades, attended different schools, and after thirteen years I sat in a big room with a couple of thousand other kids who did the same thing as me. Dressed in a brown (yes, brown...) robe I walked up and accepted a piece of paper that represented a diploma, which, in turn, represented the fact that I spent all those years sitting in classes, taking notes, putting off homework, and spending time with friends.

By the time I reached my senior year--my last year--I thought that school was so important, so all-encompassing. And why not? It was my life...it's all I knew.

Funny how important things tend to lose their luster over time.

With the advantage of hindsight, I can look at not only my years in school but the system in general. Important? Of course. All-encompassing? Not even close. 

Growing up I lived in a small town and we almost had one high school in each community. I traveled to the next town over to attend, give or take about five miles away. Now, just over thirty years after I finished, they built a brand-new, shiny high school in my hometown. I now live once again in a small town with its own high school. The next closest high school is at least twenty miles away. In time, that will change.

But that school spirit, that high school spirit...I think for some, it will never change. Kids will enter the system as small children and kick them out and label them as adults, whether or not they are. And businesses will hang banners and put up signs to take advantage of that spirit--hopefully converting school pride to cash. Good for them, I say. 

For me, unlike some, I have fond memories of my high school years. I remember hanging out with my friends, something I wish I could still do, though I know that life has ended. I sure wish I was as healthy as I was back then--that will never come back, nor should it. Life is meant to be lived, new experiences replace the old. It's the way it should be. When I saw a school banner in our local pizza joint, it brought back things, even though the banner wasn't from the school draped in brown and gold. Ah, that high school spirit...it never quite disappears entirely, just fades away a little more year after year.

Gotta Support The Home Team...

 I've been searching for a certain article of clothing at our local thrift stores for a while. It's how I usually find things. I'll get it in my mind of what I want, then whenever we're near a thrift store, we'll go in and check to see if it's there.

I won't say now what that article of clothing is, but I will let you know if/when I find one (and one in my size...). Needless to say, the last time we went I did not find what I was looking for, but I found something else, a shirt emblazoned with the logo of the local high school's track team.

The Bear River Bears Track Team.

I thought it would be a good idea to pick it up.

I'm glad I did.

People around here are pretty loyal to the local school. It feels like it did when I attended Dear Ol' Davis High School. Back then, there were actual demarkations between Centerville (Viewmont), Farmington/Fruit Heights/Kaysville (Davis), and Layton (Layton). We were pretty proud to be Darts (still am...). Those to the south were proud to be Vikings, and to the north, Lancers. I know it's silly, but that's how it felt. When we left Davis County, there's almost no distinctions between those cities, and now Farmington has its own high school. I'm sure there are proud Phoenix there now.

I've worn the new shirt a lot. I wear it around town, and even though I have absolutely no connection to the school. Still, it makes me feel part of the community and maybe--even though people here have no idea who I am nor have they ever seen me before--I'm more accepted.

I was thinking, as I thought about this particular post, I have NO shirts or clothing bearing the Davis High or Dart logo. Living on the same street where I grew up I never needed to let people know where I attended. Maybe, I should have--when perusing the thrift stores in Davis County--picked up a shirt or jacket that told the world I attended Davis High School. In fact, having a Davis High Track shirt would be pretty cool.

Signs In A Pizza Joint...

 We're slowly getting to know the area. We've visited both local groceries stores, both local furniture stores, both local hardware stores, the post office, the city offices, the dry cleaners,  and a local restaurant or two. You can learn a lot about an area by visiting the places people go to shop. You can also find out a lot about the kind of people who own the businesses by what they hang on their walls.

At the local pizza joint, Pizza Plus, home of their famous breadsticks (they are SO good...), they have a few things hanging on the walls. The one on top was the first one I saw, then I saw the others. I just had to get pictures of them. They also had several pictures of old Tremonton. That section of the restaurant didn't appear to be open. Next time I'm going to check out those pictures. I love seeing life the way it once was.

There was also a mini-shrine to a couple of Bear River High School athletic teams, specifically, the 2016 Bears football team, a baseball team, and some "thank yous" from the students. Funny...didn't see anything after Trump was inaugurated. Coincidence...? Maybe.

The restaurant had my daughter-in-law's business ad hanging up and I appreciate that. It's always good to spread the word. Yes--you can learn a lot about a community by the pizza joint they serve. Ours seems to be a fun place that offers great food and provides a fun place to eat.

Within reason, of course...