{"id":22352,"date":"2025-05-14T00:37:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T06:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22352"},"modified":"2025-05-13T18:45:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T00:45:49","slug":"this-old-hat-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/14\/this-old-hat-2\/","title":{"rendered":"This Old Hat"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Bryce Angell – The outdoors has always been a large part of my life. My father was an outfitter and guide for 35 years and I was there to shoe and care for the horses and help him do the cooking. We took many great trips into the Yellowstone area. Even now that I\u2019m older, we still ride into the Tetons, Yellowstone and surrounding areas. My poems are mostly of personal experience. I am now retired and enjoying life to the fullest. I plan to do more riding and writing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other day I pondered, was it time to buy a hat? A hat to fit my budget.
\nWere there miracles like that?
\nThe brand-new store in town was advertising cowboy hats for sale.
\nI figured now or never \u2018fore I wised up and turned tail.
\nThere were 10X hats on every wall. The straw hats hung below.
\nI was looking for a good felt hat to brag on and for show.
\nI pointed to a Stetson and it had the name of Gus.
\nThe attendant rolled his eyes at me. The doggone dirty cuss!
\nHe said, \u201cYou sure you want this hat? It\u2019s got a hefty price.\u201d
\nI asked how much. He said, \u201cThree hundred!\u201d Didn\u2019t have to tell me twice!
\nThe clerk in all his smirking said, \u201cYour hat\u2019s a sad sad story.\u201d
\nBut I needn\u2019t call him dirty cuss, more arrogant in glory.
\nThis hat of mine was given to me some fifty years to date.
\nA 10X Stetson from my folks, in hopes I\u2019d graduate.
\nMy hat ain\u2019t got a fancy shape like Yellowstone or Gus.
\nNot every hat is Hollywood. So pardner what\u2019s the fuss?
\nThis hat has kept my head warm from the frigid winter days.
\nAnd blocks out all the sunburn from the sunshine\u2019s hottest rays.
\nI remember when Jake tossed me high. I slammed hard to the ground.
\nBut my hat never moved and there is no disgrace for a lid that keeps your head sound.
\nNow the top of my head ain\u2019t seen a hair\u2019s thread since forty-odd years passed me by. But my hat don\u2019t complain. It stays just the same,
\nslightly cocked there above my right eye.
\nTo my daughter\u2019s despair, I wore my hat to see my grandson born.
\nYet I did take it off when Grandma passed, hat in hand we all did mourn.
\nI\u2019m wearing my old hat again. How long will it be around?
\nEach morning it\u2019s still on the hook. I know where it can be found.
\nI\u2019ll dust the dirt and grime off from my Stetson cowboy hat.
\nAnd treat it much more kindly than a plain old head hat rack.
\nIt\u2019s more than just a hat. My Stetson\u2019s full of history.
\nIt don\u2019t matter \u2018bout its looks, my hat is good enough for me.
\nSo with luck for years I\u2019ll keep this hat. It\u2019s a classic at this place.
\n\u2018Cuz it fits down snug, guarding my mug. Yes, I think it adds grit to my face.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Bryce Angell<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The other day I pondered, was it time to buy a hat? A hat to fit my budget. Were there miracles like that? The brand-new store in town was advertising cowboy hats for sale. I figured now or never \u2018fore I wised up and turned tail. There were 10X hats on every wall. The straw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,62,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22352","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-cowboy-poetry","7":"category-art","8":"category-commentary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22353,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22352\/revisions\/22353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}