Many years ago when I was a little girl, my family lived in the country. My father farmed the land and cared for his animals. Many men did not have jobs to earn money for food. They walked on the roads, stopping at homes to beg for food.
As a little girl, I watched my mother and father give food to those who came to our back door. Some of these men stopped at our house once a year. My father was the only one who would talk to them. One time my mother and father invited a man to come into the kitchen where it was warm. The Hobo, as these traveling men were called back then, was seated on a chair by the stove near the back door.
It was October 17th, when my father invited this one inside to sit by the fire. I went over to him and told him that my birthday was that very day. He smiled and said he had a gift for me. I was SO surprised! He brought in a big, black bag from the back porch. I was very excited and could hardly wait until he opened it. Inside we saw pieces of lovely material, gloves, scarves, shoes, socks, combs, hair brushes and much more. He felt through the bag until his big hands found something. It was a large piece of beautiful blue velvet! I felt so special to receive this beautiful piece of material, and I could hardly go to sleep when I went to bed that night.
After finishing his meal, he said goodbye and he and my father spoke. He picked up the big black bag and left by the back door telling my father he would see him next year.
A few days later my mother said she thought I would like a warm blue velvet hat to wear to the first grade, as a cold winter was coming. The hat turned out rather like a sock cap. She would pull it on my head and over my ears. My father was very proud of the way the hat looked on me. I wore the little blue hat when playing outside at recess time. But the other school kids laughed and made fun of my new blue hat! I did not know what to think, but I was embarrassed. That was the only time I ever wore my hat at school. I wore it when my father drove us to school, and I wore it when my father came to drive us home.
My lovely blue velvet hat turned out to just be something for kids to make fun of. I was very sad over this. I never told my mother how the kids had laughed at the beautiful hat she has so lovingly made for me.
I will never forget "Joe Rhyne", the Hobo who gave me the piece of beautiful blue velvet. I never saw him again......
