The Loss Of A Comrade, The Birth of a New Relationship

For those of you that have known me for any length of time may know I love my hat. It is not just any hat, but one that my mother in law handcrafted for me. After searching the world over for a perfect hat for my adult sized head...I finally had it.

It was burnt orange and a bright tie dyed. It fit perfect, and was with me for atleast three seasons out of the year. It was with me for over 7 years, and now here is the sad part. It is gone.....

A few weeks ago we were boondocking in a walmart parking lot in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The weather was dark and rainy, but no big deal. Just after 11 p.m. I recieved a text from Hive account@papa-pepper giving us a heads up about the weather.

He mentioned that there were heavy storms and tornadoes in the area. We didn't think much of it because it wasn't raining much. Minutes later the skies opened and it was pouring. The winds picked up and the rain was flying sideways.

After a bit of debate as to what action to take, the only choice was to run into the Wal-mart. After a shopping cart slammed into the side of our Suburban, we knew for sure what to do.

One by one the family scrambled out and ran head first into the storm. It was my turn now and I had my things all gathered up, and thats when I saw our scared dogs. So I hurried and leashed them, gathered my things and took off running into the night.

The storm passed and we were able to get back to sleep. It was about 2 a.m. and our eyes were very tired.

The next morning all was fine and well. We were safe, alive, and happy. We began to clean up and get ready for the day, and that's when I noticed it was gone.

I searched all over the car, the trailer, around the parking lot, and in a drainage ditch. It was gone.

Within hours my wonderful wife Stacie D Hive account@freedomtowrite was on the phone with her mom, and was talking about plans for a new hat.