{"id":666,"date":"2016-11-21T16:15:26","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T16:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/?p=666"},"modified":"2025-04-21T13:40:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T13:40:35","slug":"for-lack-of-a-hat-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/11\/21\/for-lack-of-a-hat-part-i\/","title":{"rendered":"For Lack of a Hat- Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"galaxynotesept2016-110\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s an old building, a refurbished hotel – circa 1800\u2019s. It must have been quite the place back when.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good day to duck in for a lecture; the autumn leaves are rushing around the trees like dirt devils.\u00a0 It\u2019s blustery and grey. Lady pushes on the door ornate with carvings, great sweeping gouges curved into delicate curlicues. She leans into the door with difficulty until the wind forces its way first, flinging the door wide, slamming the cracked wallpaper. She feels like a banshee busting in on all fours and is glad there is no one to see it. She smooths her black hair as best she can until she finds a restroom.\u00a0 Sarah had told her to wear a hat before she went out but she wouldn\u2019t hear it.\u00a0 Hats make her feel like her brain is squashed, she can\u2019t tolerate them- they hold her thoughts too tightly. She walks on, lightly, wading through thick blue carpeting in high heels.<\/p>\n

A sandwich board next to the reception desk displays its information in red plastic letters: Today! \u201cTake Charge\u201d part one of the motivational series led by Fenton Jones, 1:00-2:00pm in the green room.\u00a0 Refreshments served.<\/p>\n

This is the right place. The woman behind the desk is busy arranging yellow mums in a vase. There\u2019s a flesh- tone hearing aid lodged in her right ear. She looks up at Lady over rimless glasses attached to a rhinestone chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou here for the talk?\u201d She asks. Her badge identifies her as Marla Beans, Head Clerk. She hands Lady a name tag and pen.<\/p>\n

Lady nods an emphatic yes, and dutifully slaps on the nametag. Before she can get any word out Marla Beans points to the left and goes back to her flowers.<\/p>\n

Lady is annoyed at being dismissed, but does what she\u2019s told and heads down the hall. If she can just find the restroom. But there are no rooms on either side of the green-papered hallway just a row of pink colored sconces casting an eerie glow. Lady finds the color combination quite revolting but doesn\u2019t let it discourage.<\/p>\n

At the end of the hall she finds the double doors labeled \u201cMotivational Series.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conference room is Spartan, with hard wood floors that creak when you walk. High-back chairs are arranged in a semicircle around a blackboard. She guesses it\u2019s meant to look cozy and takes the only empty seat in dead center, bumping the man to her right. She feels very self-conscious and almost longs for a hat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you make of this?\u201d Asks the man next to her, pointing to the blackboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? It hasn\u2019t started yet.\u201d She says, looking at the big block letters that spell out: Take Charge.<\/p>\n

Suddenly the lights dim and Muzak pours in from behind dusty drapes. One of the brocade tassels falls out of its knot and sweeps the floor. The white-faced clock with black hands looks down from the wall. One fifteen. A poof of wind scoots under the doors and blows a leaf across the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name\u2019s Jed, this here\u2019s my wife Effie.\u201d The man to her right introduces himself, holding out a hand.<\/p>\n

Lady gives him a limp squeeze and a tepid smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you been waiting long?\u201d Lady asks, eyeing the clock hands that seem to be melting.<\/p>\n

A stick of a woman in a peach chiffon dress is pointing at her,<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Hi! Ah\u2019m Delia May! Welcome, welcome!\u201d<\/p>\n

Lady doesn\u2019t like uppity types.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the hell is he?\u201d A stout woman on the far right stands, wringing her hands, red-faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Leeds, is it?\u201d Jed strains to read her name tag, \u201cwhy not just sit back down.\u00a0 No need to rile everyone.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be much longer.\u201d He smiles and motions with his hand for her to sit.<\/p>\n

Mr. Jenkins, a very thin gentleman to Lady\u2019s left, blurts out,<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd where are the refreshments? I only came for the food. I could give a rat\u2019s ass about motivation.\u201d He looks around for anyone like minded and catches a glint in Mrs. Tomkins eye- she is\u00a0the redhead- and winks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute, wait a minute.\u201d Delia May Rose gets out of her seat and stands in front of the group waving a lacy handkerchief.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh fa one, knooow\u201d she drags out the word,<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Jones is<\/em> hee-ya.\u00a0 Ah saw him.\u00a0 Leastways he was in the lounge last Ah knew.\u00a0 Probly just lost track a tahm, is all.\u201d And repeats it,<\/p>\n

\u201cLost track a tahm.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Her southern bit of a drawl is irksome enough without repeating. Lady puffs up.\u00a0 Who does she think she is?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sit down!\u201d Lady\u2019s tone surprises even her.<\/p>\n

Delia May Rose blushes a sunset. The white-faced clock is all hands spinning.<\/p>\n

\u201cLady?\u201d Jed touches her arm<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Lady?\u201d Mr. Jenkins on her left.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid the lights flicker, or did I doze off for a minute?\u201d Mrs. Leeds pipes in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat just happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it\u2019s hats off to Miss Lady. \u201c Mr. Jenkins says,<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s taking charge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It\u2019s an old building, a refurbished hotel – circa 1800\u2019s. It must have been quite the place back when.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7zCq3-aK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":825,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2017\/02\/08\/for-lack-of-a-hat-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":666,"position":0},"title":"For Lack of a Hat Part II","author":"L Dewender","date":"February 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Lady takes a cursory look around the room; even without direct eye contact she can see the wrinkled faces and craning necks over the high back chairs, stretching toward her... She smiles apprehensively and backs away. She had no intention of making a spectacle of herself.\u00a0 She doesn\u2019t\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Short Story"","block_context":{"text":"Short Story","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/contents\/submissions\/short-story\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"galaxynotesept2016 128","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/galaxynotesept2016-128-237x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1028,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2019\/04\/27\/for-lack-of-a-hat-part-iii\/","url_meta":{"origin":666,"position":1},"title":"For Lack of a Hat Part III","author":"L Dewender","date":"April 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Lady feels liberated. She glides through the hallway.\u00a0 The day\u2019s events sift and fall through her head like fairy dust.\u00a0 Blue carpeting ripples under foot like a rising tide. She rides it like a wave while grasping at green papered walls; its texture, wrinkled like old skin, supple and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prose"","block_context":{"text":"Prose","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/prose\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"10292017 galaxy 079","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10292017-galaxy-079-1024x681.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":910,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2017\/06\/11\/three-fairy-tales\/","url_meta":{"origin":666,"position":2},"title":"Three Fairy Tales","author":"James Crafford","date":"June 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0n our town, legend has it, we are sometimes visited by\u00a0\u00a0 goblins and fairies not always friendly and tame. rom an early age, all of us have heard tales of this, \u00a0and we\u00a0would sometimes laugh them off, \u00a0while other times, perhaps evenings when the fire burned long and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"caprice_medium","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/caprice_medium.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1012,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2017\/10\/29\/noah-and-the-carpenter\/","url_meta":{"origin":666,"position":3},"title":"Noah and the Carpenter","author":"Kelly L. Goodridge","date":"October 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 On Halloween Eve, while Rick littered his front lawn with mock foam tombstones, his former neighbor Chuck stopped to visit. They shook hands.\u00a0 Chuck was close to 50, his once brown hair now peppered with gray.\u00a0 Rick hadn\u2019t seen him in years.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s up, man?\u201d \u201cWell, I was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Prose"","block_context":{"text":"Prose","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/prose\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_3190 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/IMG_3190-2-1024x625.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":320,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/07\/23\/what-happened-out-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":666,"position":4},"title":"What Happened Out Back- Part 1","author":"Kathy Follett","date":"July 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0The South Onnamaqua police rescue team responding to a call on September 8 discovered a local resident up to her neck in what was described as wet mulch after an accident on her property at 11 Breakfront St.\u00a0 Sheila Redmond (47) said she had\u00a0been hosing leaves off her barn when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/08\/01\/about-alexandra-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":666,"position":5},"title":"About Alexandra- Part 2","author":"Kathy Follett","date":"August 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Alexandra is my daughter but I\u2019ll let her speak for herself even if I can\u2019t stand it. . . . . Mom is alright. At least she\u2019s not mean. But she\u2019s a mess. Like when I got home on Tuesday the Rescue Service was pulling her out of the mulch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"studio08012016 022","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/studio08012016-022-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":708,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666\/revisions\/708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}