Second Chance Part 3.

Various hats and coats hang on the stand pegs. Most are only
visiting and some we never see again. A few are friendly but
the majority are rather aloof. There is a cloche hat (so old
fashioned) which Mrs.Carobeanie (Snr) wears out shopping. She
rarely talks and when she does it is to say nasty things about
the ladies not wearing hats, which is nearly every lady these
days. Gran tells her 'to behave' but she never listens. Mrs.
Carobeanie (Snr) often looks like she has stepped out from a book
about the Roaring Twenties. Except on Sundays when she wears a
fluffy rose toque hat to church, then she looks like the Queen of
England. That hat does not live on the stand but sometimes does
visit just after church till after lunchtime when Mrs. Carobeanie
takes her up stairs, when Mrs. Carobeanie goes for 'her nanny'
nap as the children call it. The toque hat says "It it is a sad
sight at church. There are only a handful of older ladies wearing
hats now. Once there were a sea of hats and it was so exciting
trying to find the plainest and the most glamorous. Now she is
the best of a poor bunch. Soon no one will wear hats." Each
Sunday she describes all the hats and we agree with her she seems
to be the best of a poor bunch.

There is a closet next to the hall stand and in there are also many
hats and coats, also rain coats and gum boots. They rarely come to
the hall stand buit when they do visit they tell us how lucky we
are and how envious they are of us. "It is a terrible thing to be
kept in the dark and away from the light, it makes one sooo depressed."
They say.

Then there is of course myself. To the naked eye, I was a gentleman's
umbrella, dark ebony black material stretched over reinforced spines
to form my panels. A dark highly polished teak handle, but I had
secret assets. My head came off when the handle was twisted left, to
reveal a sharp pointed blade. When the handle was twisted right part
of the handle and my head came off to reveal a little gun. In its
chambers were two deadly bullets. A special size had to be made. My
father had said "Just as deadly as a larger bullett." He was the proof
of that statement.

It is quickly approaching 2 p.m. so I will not have time to tell you
of my many adventures but will skip to how I came to be here.