hat trick

olde men like hats.
i like olde men..
it seems that
wizardly,
crinkly,
wrinkly olde men wear hats~
most of the older fogies i've known
have hair that has descended
from the crown of their heads
to their chins..
it occurs to me that this may well
be why they inhabit hats.

when i was younger and blonder,
traveling through countries
such as pakistan, afghanistan,
iran and turkey..
israel and egypt..
it was a challenge for me
to keep the younger, darker men at bay!

this was when i conjured up the hat trick.
throughout these rugged lands,
the olde men gathered in the squares
at the chai shoppes and hookah stalls
to play sheshbesh, tavali..backgammon.
they would roll their own smokes,
imbibe cup after cup,
hookah after hookah
and peddle the breezes.

they all wore hats.
these hats were hand crafted particularly
within each region of fine dyes and exotic fibers..
some brightly coloured, some dull and plain
all of them well worn..

i took to wearing the hats of olde men.
aha!
wherever i went, i would settle down in a seat
just out of reach of their games and gossip.
slowly, slowly..
i would edge in to watch a move on the board..
or ask for some papers/tobacco for a hand roll
or buy an oldie a cuppa!

inevitably..and it worked every time..
i'd be in the game, at the table
chittering and chattering away in
some unknown garble that we all understood..
the young and the restless and the o so dark boys
would leave me to the finely chiseled grey olde men.

no longer young nor blonde,
i have no need for the protection of hats.
however,
i did want for a few caps
for pals back home.
this led me on a search for gandhi caps..
usually made of white khadi fabric
and always, always worn
by olde,
wizardly,
crinkly,
wrinkly men.

i reserve the right to be reserved
but this day, waltzing right up to such a gent,
i asked.. where indeed did he find such a fine gandhi cap?!

just there, was his patent reply..
just where? i questioned...
just there, he stated again a bit impatiently.
just where, sir? i requested again...
just there..o, i'll take you to the khadi shoppe myself..

would you, could you, please and thank you, sir?!

after he had finished his shopping..
for i pulled him right off his gabbing chair..
he led the way through the streets of hubli..
i, following a few steps behind.

he stopped at the vegetable women 's baskets along the way..
haggling prices, pinching the flesh of oranges,
tasting the gooseberries..while the women looked on
with delight and surprize at his foreign puppy in tow..
at one such stand, he was satisfied with his grazing
and planned to make a purchase.
i jumped in,
attempting to gift him with his branches of berries..
i don't need your money, he stated firmly..
i replied..
i know that, sir..but i need your hat!
we laughed as he paid for the bundle himself...

he dropped me quick as bunny
at the khadi shoppe and was gone!

i bought two gandhi caps..
sizes 23 1/2 and 24..?
they were 30 rupees apiece
and as i was pulling out my bills,
the shoppekeeper said..
(this has never, ever happened to me in india ever before ever!)
we offer a 15% discount!

mostly, i travel bareheaded these days..
no young, dark men are after my tail.
i still enjoy fiddle-dee-deeing
(if you know what i mean)
with the curmudgeons i meet!
i like olde men in hats!