Hats Off to the Lady!

An illustration of a neighborhood grocery store.

Made a run to the grocery store today. Needed the basics:  juice, eggs, guacamole, salsa, & chips. And, of course, Dr. Pepper.  Several other items came home with me, and they're mostly all put up in the refrigerator & cupboards.

Here in the states, folks tend to dress very casually for grocery store runs. Blue jeans & tee shirts are the most common outfits you'll see here in Texas. Summer time brings out the cut offs, shorts, tank tops & flip-flops. Well, it's still winter time here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and today seemed a bit chilly with the low temperature at 40 degrees and the expected high at 53 degrees Fahrenheit. For most Texans that's the time to put on a pot of chili and rev up a roaring fire in the fireplace, keeping on their shorts and keeping the flip-flops near by.

Not so for one unique grocery store shopper. Not so, today.

She stood about five and one-half feet tall, with block high heels and black top hat. Her fur coat, imitation or real (I couldn't tell.) was knock-out, drop-dead gorgeous! The back was a chevron design of mixed colors & textures... white, black, reddish brown & gray. It graced her silhouette all the way down to her ankles, and it moved and shimmered as she walked down the aisles. She looked like she belonged on a fashion runway, certainly not the canned vegetable aisle.

I tried not to stare as I caught other glimpses of her in the store. The last time I saw her, she was at the checkout counter, waiting in line like the rest of us buggy-pushing people. In her hands she held one of those gossip tabloids. You know, the ones that are published weekly, the ones that are full of made-up stories. Her buggy held several items, so she had not run in for just one item, or two.

Her hat... oh, it was beautiful! The dome must have been wool fabric, and the extra-wide, extra-thick brim was black, luscious fiber/fur. Again, imitation fur or real, I don't know. But, it was stunning, and the perfect crown for a night on the town.

But... it wasn't night time, and it wasn't a fashion runway. It wasn't a party, and it wasn't freezing outside. It was just a trip to the grocery store at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon, just a regular, neighborhood grocery store stuck on the corner between here & there.

Been thinking about her and what I learned as an observer who was wearing faded blue jeans and a long sleeved tee shirt.  Understand that I'm not at all jealous of what this woman owns. I have everything I need and want, and I don't covet her possessions or her lifestyle. I don't know her or anything about her. She just happened to be there when I was there.  I was just an observer.

This I did realize, though. I decided that if I had an outfit like hers, just when the heck could I wear it here in Texas? We have very few days below freezing, so there are very few times to bundle up. And just where the heck could I wear it? The Winspear Opera House?  Bass Hall? Reunion Tower? Country Clubs?

Yes, I guess, to all of the above, but I don't go to those places very often, and I'm not a member of a country club. But I've decided that, IF I did have a fabulous coat AND a magical hat like that, I'd wear it any dang place I wanted to. Why, girlfriend... I'd even wear to the grocery store.

So next time you go grocery shopping, you may see this lady. She may be strolling down the cereal aisle, or you may catch her reading the labels on the pet food aisle, or she may have a newspaper tabloid in hand. Don't fret a bit, and think nothing of it. Just enjoy the beauty of the moment and how that lady is enjoying what she owns. She's not saving the good stuff for later, or for her kids. She's making use of it now. Even if it is 53 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and even if she wears that coat only to the grocery store, you gotta' recognize that those refrigerator cases where they keep the juice & eggs are mighty, mighty danged cold. Brrr...

Lesson learned:  Use the good stuff... and enjoy it! I gotta' say... Hats off to the lady!

@Copyright 2019 Cindy Lou Hodges All Rights Reserved.