Thursday, July 23, 2009

The Tip of a Hat

Probably tops among the things that I enjoy watching, other than Eagles, flowers, waterfalls, birds, wild animals and puppies, is people. Last Wednesday we attended a musical event in Madison called "Concert on the Square". It's great fun. On Wednesdays during the Summer, hundreds (maybe thousands or millions) of music lovers, picnicers, patrons of the arts and a few winos gather on the lawn around the State Capital building . . . "The Square" to listen to a performance of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. You can pack a picnic basket with your dinner or purchase pretty good food from vendors in little tents around the venue OR if your among the privileged you get to sit at fancy table set up along the main sidewalk that leads to the Capital steps and have a fine dinner, complete with wine served by a formally dressed wait staff. These are reserved for sponsors, their friends, family, employees and anyone else that can come up with millions of dollars for dinner. (A few years ago, thanks to Lands' End, we actually won the opportunity to dine at one of these tables. It really beats the crap out of trying to balance a root beer, an Uno's pizza and bug spray on a blanket in the grass.) We normally make it to at least one performance each Summer. Usually one that Lands' End sponsors. For a small fee employees can ride in big, comfortable buses, provided by LE, from Dodgeville to the concert and back. Most of the concerts that we attended were really enjoyable with some outstanding guest musicians. This year, not too great. For a change we opted to forgo the pleasure of sitting on a blanket on the lawn and sat on our folding chairs along the curb. This provided for a not-so-good view of the performers but was excellent for "people watching". People, like our fine feathered friends, find it necessary to adorn themselves in bright, strangely shaped costumes. Unlike the birds, who have no choice in color or shape (Mother Nature dresses them), people actually choose how they dress. While observing the passersby for quite a while, I became amused by the variety of headware on display. Although I missed a lot of really "interesting" hats, caps and wraps, I managed to record a few of them. Earlier in the evening there were a lot of bike racer caps but they were undoubtedly too fast for digital agility. Unfortunately the "Best of Show" had settled in by the time I dug out my trusty camera from amongst the many "supplies" that we had toted with us. I'd like to tell you about the ones that got away but, you'll just have to settle for the ones I got.

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