Monday, August 18, 2008

The Hat Lady returns

Saturday I was at the grocery store sliding down the frozen aisle when I turn the corner and I realise I'm looking at the Hat Lady coming the other way except she's wearing a regular hat not one of her grocery bag creations and I blurt out "You aren't wearing one of your hats" She looks at me and says"Oh,so you noticed" and from the way she said it I half expected her to add Darling. Mind you this is the first time I ever spoke to her and I tell her I've seen you all over the westside for like six years riding the bus and waiting for it.She is smiling now and says"Perhaps you should be my Chauffer".I tell her I don't drive in Los Angeles anymore as I hate driving here and she says like Oh that's too bad.I walk off thinking maybe she didn't understand me saying I rode the bus and her talking about me being her chauffer when it dawns on me maybe she's one of these older ladies who has some vintage Caddy or Lincoln sitting home in her garage and she was saying she should get this classic out of the garage and let this young man drive her to and fro in it.So now I'm picturing myself driving a 64 Lincoln convertible with her in the backseat(I know the model year is really stretching it but it's my fantasy)I'm pretty sure she lives in a house a few blocks up but there happens to be a guy robbing elderly women who live alone in the wee hours in this area so the idea of staking out her block trying to see what she's got in the garage probably isn't a great idea.Maybe I'll buy a Chauffers hat and start wearing it on the bus hoping to run into her.

4 comments:

Colburn said...

Maybe you should be her bodyguard instead of being her chauffeur.

nnyhav said...

... or painter

JAbel said...

Dave that's quite a hat.Maybe I should give her a copy and tell her top that.I was half hoping she had a british accent so maybe then she might have an old Jaguar Saloon or is it Salon sitting in the garage.

Colburn said...

That's really funny: after I read nnyhav's comment, but before I clicked on the link, I actually thought "I wonder if it's a link to Matisse's woman in a hat." I was still surprised to find out that I was right! It's in the SFMoMA collection, so I've seen it a million times. I think I actually wrote an essay about that painting in a college Art History course...