The Death of My Favorite Hat

Today I mourn the passing of my favorite cap. I bought it years ago in Ukraine and it has been my daily companion for thousands of miles. With a bald head I have to keep it covered to stay warm and to keep it from roasting. My old friend fell victim to our latest obsession, airsoft gun battles. I’m not exactly sure why they have the word “soft” in the name because there is nothing soft about it. They have replica assault rifles with the heft and balance of a real AK-47 or M-16 and the same sights, etc. Then they fit it with an automatic compressed air motor that fires hard heavy plastic 7mm pellets in a fully automatic burst. The idea is to get as close as possible to the experience of firing a fully-automatic assault weapon.

Andrew, the girls and I have been going with Travis and Jonny (friends from the US and now students at MediaLight) and Shane Vermooten (guest teacher from South Africa) to a battle place at night for war games. I tried wearing a helmet but didn’t like the weight so i went back to my nicely-broken-in hat. It’s leather so BBs can’t pierce it, right? Brooke and I ended up in a standoff from about 8 feet away and I caught a full face of pellets. Five went through the hat and I also took one on the lip (yes, we had safety glasses made of metal mesh). My head knots will heal but the hat is another story. (Brooke is still nursing her earlobe wound). I tried repairing the damage with a glue gun (I’m hung up on guns, I know) but it’s just not the same now. Now there are shiny places of glue and bits of white fabric and well, it’s just not as fun wearing it now. Anybody going to Eastern Europe any time soon???