A weekend in Calgary\High River with Family, Hats, Volleyball, and Sunshine

My brother has a number of hats -- perhaps hundreds -- from a French Foreign Legion original to homemade numbers; a top hat ala "Deadwood" to toppers he's picked up in his travels around the world. With each hat is a story. Or many stories. Two things about my brother: he tells a good story, and he loves his hats.

Unfortunately he and his wife Laurel cannot attend our spring BBQ\wear-a-hat to the deck party in June, but he did give me some ideas as to what I might wear at the soiree. I think I'll go with the French Foreign Legion hat, which Kirby acquired through his friend Felix, who picked up it in Germany while he was serving his post-school duty.



Me in the French Foreign Legion hat, Kirby in a hat one of his friend's made.

Kirby looking decidely sheik.

This hat has lost its fairytale.



Hm. How many 45 year old's still have their hat from Cubs?



So that's what you look like with hair!

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Most of the weekend we were watching Greg's daughter Anna play volleyball at Rally Pointe (a volleyball complex in SE Calgary). Her team from Medicine Hat won Gold!

At the courts.

 




In between games I visited with my long-time friend Gail Fleck

and Greg and I got out for a brilliant run on the first really warm day we've experienced this year.

I read poetry aloud most of the way home -- Greg actually asked me to! I bought Canadian John Steffler's That Night We Were Ravenous (McLelland & Stewart, 1998, 2007) last week at Audrey's Book Store, and what a score.

He writes "we plan a high culture built \ low to the ground"  ("Primitive Renaissance"), and oh, so much more.