rekkidblogga

Anywhere I hang my hat

Last night I headed south on I-75 and hit a store that, just a few years -- no, scratch that -- months ago I'd have never even entertained the idea of venturing into. It's a western wear emporium called Horsetown. There are maybe four of them around metro Atlanta and they're just big ole places to get your redneck on. Like, literally.

OK, fine. So the ATL isn't exactly the mecca of rodeo culture but walking around Horsetown you'd never know it. They sell everything from jeans and spurs (SPURS!) to western shirts and really cheesy tees with yee-haw slogans (like "If Barrel Racin' Was Easy They'd Call It Bronc Bustin'" - dude please; the only barrel racin' happening here goes on when the DOT is doing interstate roadwork during rush hour traffic). I went to Horsetown with a single purpose in mind: to find me a cowpoke hat.

And I did. Within five minutes of walking in this barnlike structure (no windows, which has gotta violate like six Georgia fire codes) I saw the little "corral" where all the hats, expensive and cheap alike, sat side by side. Pricey Stetsons mingled with... with... with hats so no-name that I didn't bother to catch their names. But all were available to Just Plain Folks like me. So I tried on a Stetson and after realizing that $235 doesn't go with any of the cheap Target-bought t-shirts and jeans I own, I put it back and kept on scanning the wooden shelves.

Finally, I settled on something that was, well, just so... "me." Not too horsey but not too urban. I tried on a 100% leather chocolate brown Minnetonka Australian Outback hat, mildly floppy, that was the perfect mix of cowpoke meets hillbilly - which is just what I wanted. My thinking was that I'd buy a cowpoke hat to take goofy "Yeehaw" fotos in with my friends at concerts or while just hanging out this summer or whatever. Or if I ever get an actual DJ-ing gig, I'm gonna wear it when I spin.

I love my new cowpoke hat because it's rustic looking - not super swank and trendy like those stupid Kenny Chesney straw "I Resurrected My Flailing Career By Turning Myself Into The Country Version Of Jimmy Buffett" hats that everyone thinks are so cool right now. My hat isn't like everyone else's. There were only four of them out there, one in each size: S, M, L and XL - as opposed to the Wall of Straw, which tells me that I've got something special.

Why leather? Leather lasts. Me and this hat, we're gonna make memories.

posted by rekkidbraka @ 2:35 PM