Once upon a time there was a cap.
No, once upon a time, there were fibers…
No, a bit earlier…
Once upon a time, there were seeds.
Seeds are tiny bits of ancestral energy that, when given the ideal setting and tools, grow into descendants. Seeds can be metaphorical, like beliefs or ideas. Sprouting from spoken word or stories passed through generations. Seeds can also be physical, like those that grow into plants with roots and branches. This is a tale of sowing, or planting, good seeds.
Once upon a time, there were cotton seeds. [Cotton is a plant that, when allowed to fruit, becomes a fluffy fibrous tool that can be harvested by humans to make clothing and blankets]. The cotton seeds grew into big, abundant cotton plants that were harvested and turned into thread. Some of the thread was woven and became fabric. Other bits of the thread became embroidered decorations. And when the thread, fabric, and colorful dyes came together, they formed into cap.
This is the story of a cap, and its adventure to find the perfect head.
The cotton didn’t become just any cap. It took the shape of a Red Cap. And this Red Cap was created at a time in history when red hats held a particular meaning. Humans had planted seeds of ideas that red hats were tribal symbols.
[Some humans used red hats to signify who could (or couldn’t) join their tribe. The hats were a sign of inclusivity, but also exclusivity. Something had happened at a particular moment in history, and red hats took on a different meaning than ever before. A red hat was like a uniform for a particular tribe.]
The Red Cap didn’t know about the human’s ideas surrounding red hats. And it also didn’t know about the symbols emblazoned on its front and sides. The symbols were a dog, called a Huskie, and a large “C”, sewn in white. These two adjacent symbols represented two unrelated tribes, but together on one Red Cap, signified an identity of sorts. The C stood for Cubs. Not just the animal, but a baseball team. It also represented a city: Chicago. The Chicago Cubs, and their fans, stood for fun, togetherness, laughter, and friendship. Fans of this baseball team were welcoming, referring to their team’s stadium as “The Friendly Confines”.
Off in the distant corn fields, a few hours away from Chicago, was a college called Northern Illinois University (NIU) with a mascot called The Huskie. The humans who went there came away with a college education, lifelong friendships and new ideas. The NIU Huskie emblem represented a tribe of people who also stood for fun, togetherness, laughter, and friendship. They were welcoming and inclusive. Across the country, when folks would see the Huskie or NIU symbols, they knew they were meeting a friend.
The Red Cap didn’t know any of this, for it was a hat and couldn’t see its own adornments, but somehow it knew it was a hat. It was also ignorant to the opinions and ideas surrounding red hats, and wasn’t quite sure where it fit in on a cosmic scale. The Red Cap had a feeling of longing, not quite sure for what. It had wandered between factories, pieced together by machines and humans, decorated into a finished product: A Red Chicago Cubs NIU Huskies Baseball Cap. The Red Cap felt aimless, in the darkness of a box, not knowing where it would end up. It didn’t yet know its full potential, and restlessness was waiting over the horizon.
Meanwhile…
There was a Lady. The Lady was a member of the Tribe of Earthlings. She wasn’t quite sure which other human factions she belonged to, but she met strangers as new friends and greeted new faces warmly. She’d held and worn many hats through her life, some for work and others for play. She had been wandering a bit lately, and found herself keeping an eye out for a light and a path forward. A sense of purpose. Some meaning. It was hard to explain, and even harder to understand. It was this ill-defined sense that life, her life, and human life, had some purpose, but that purpose was getting lost in the darkness.
The Lady had noticed the Earthlings around her were becoming divided. Seeds of ideas were turning into action, and humans were breaking off into smaller and smaller factions. Even though the species was multiplying at unprecedented rates, they were separating and working against each other more than ever. The Lady noticed tribes of people with red hats, blue stripes, and strongly-worded phrases. She wondered why everyone was trying so hard to be separate, and different, and exclusive, when they were all part of the Tribe of Earthlings at their core. It was a dark, sticky feeling, and over time she began to lose hope that humans were created for good at all. Humans, it seemed, were set on a path of destruction. Destruction of their home planet, each other, and all life they encountered. And in their wake lay a path of unkindness and hopelessness.
It was a lonely feeling. She felt restless.
Now, The Lady wasn’t always restless and lonely. She had a good life, a loving family, and dear friends who understood her and allowed her to work through those feelings. She found solace in Creation, Movement, and Surrender. She also found solace in Connection. Meeting new people, caring for other Earthlings, going on adventures, and sharing experiences.
She preferred to connect in-person, but found that more and more people were connecting via The Internet.
[The Internet is a mode of communication and information-sharing, allowing humans to share ideas almost instantaneously, across vast space and time. Between devices with screens, powered by electricity, and obedient to the commands of the humans at the helm. Through a large device called a “computer”, or a smaller one, called a “smart phone”, one could plant seeds of ideas across the globe. These messages, depending on the platform, could reach hundreds, thousands, or millions of people all at once. Modern magic.]
Watching the Internet come to life, it could be believed that humans would use this technology for the improvement of their societies. Some did. Some humans used the Internet to share stories, connect to resources, lift each other up, and build friendships around the world.
Other times, and seemingly more often than not, humans were using the Internet to further divide the tribes. Through private online pages and forums, people were plotting destruction. Destruction of other humans, other tribes, other anything. If something (or someone) was perceived as different, or “other”, it was qualified as “bad”. Humans were becoming increasingly less tolerant of thoughts, ideas, or people that didn’t fit into their own tribes’ ideologies. The Internet, though establishing connections where there’d been none before, was also breaking down humanity’s ability to communicate with each other. The early seeds of connection and storytelling were being overtaken by thorny vines of bigotry and hatred. They were blocking out the light, and the seeds of kindness were left in the dark, unable to thrive in this new world. Smiling digital pictures were abundant, but somehow humans were smiling less and less in real life. Their eyes could look into the camera lens, but could not look into the eyes of other humans they met on the ground.
The Lady was finding it increasingly difficult to Connect.
Invitation to a Quest
The Lady’s husband had a sister, and the sister had a husband of her own. This man, known as a “Brother-In-Law”, needed help. And when a friend asks for help, you help them.
You see, many members of this family, including the Brother-In-Law had been part of the NIU Huskie Tribe in their younger years. They been students who learned from professors and created bonds of friendship with their classmates. The Brother-In-Law loved his time at NIU. He decorated his home and body with regalia from his beloved alma mater. He had signs and pictures, shirts and socks, displaying emblems of the NIU Huskies wherever he went. Symbols of friendship and kindness filled his space. He had it all. Or so he thought.
The Brother-In-Law discovered that the tribe of the Chicago Cubs was giving away hats. And on those hats, much to his excitement, would be an NIU insignia. What a gift! A very unique hat, this would be! A one-of-a-kind, or a one-of-a-kind-of-many-but-not-TOO-many.
The Brother-In-Law desired one of those hats. But he couldn’t buy it at a shop or order it on The Internet. The Chicago Cubs were only giving away this specialty hat in-person, in Chicago, at a baseball game, on a Wednesday night in late summer. The problem was, the Brother-In-Law lived in a faraway place called Nixa. Nixa was in a distant state called Missouri (farther away than many other countries), and the trek would be too long and arduous. He knew he couldn’t make the trip himself due to distance, the price of fuel, and the preciousness of time.
So he called on The Internet for help.
The Brother-In-Law sent out a call for someone to go to the game, acquire a hat, and get it to him anytime in the future. He said it should be easy, just show up and a hat will be the reward. He sent this call to the darkest corners of the internet, into a Book of Faces where friends kept in touch and strangers argued. And then, he waited.
The Lady no longer visited the Book of Faces, as she was staying away from dark corners of the Internet. She didn’t enjoy watching people argue and divide, so she had long since turned away from most of these platforms entirely. But The Lady’s watchful Husband saw the post, heeded the call, and responded that they could possibly fulfill this request. The Lady and her Husband lived much closer to the city of Chicago, and had friends with tickets to any Chicago Cubs game for the entire season [known as Season Tickets]. With almost no effort at all, the Lady and her Husband secured tickets for the game, and set off to get this much-desired one-of-a-kind Chicago Cubs/NIU Huskies hat.
The Friendly Confines
The Lady and her Husband drove a car, rode in a school bus, and lastly walked to the back of the Chicago Cubs stadium. The trek was easy, and they enjoyed their time together venturing into the big city. They approached the entrance, displayed their Season Tickets, and were granted access to the Friendly Confines, also known as “Wrigley Field”. The pair had many memories in this ivy-covered stadium. Eating hotdogs with soft, warm buns. Watching baseball players in blue and red uniforms run and strike balls as far as the eye could see. Their experience at this field was one of friendship, and they were happy to spend an evening here together for the first time.
It turned out, entering the field was the easy part of their quest. Little did they know, the real work was about to begin.
Little did they know, the real work was about to begin
Usually, when a prize was given at a game, it was awarded at the entrance (or gate) and was provided upon arriving. The Lady looked around for the special hats near the gate, but saw none. With no hats in sight, she began to think the supply had already run out.
She asked a friendly attendant named Sam, “we heard there were NIU hats at this game. Do you know where we get them?”.
Sam directed them, “they’re at the Special Events Table. Down this long corridor, past the sign at the very end, turn right, go through two exits; the booth is set up outside”.
The Lady and her Husband were surprised to discover they had to leave the stadium in order to locate the hats, but they had their tickets for reentry, and made sure they could get back in once the hat was acquired. So off they set. They walked quickly down the crowded corridor, noticing smiling faces in the crowd, but not seeing any hats that seemed to represent the NIU tribe. It was quite a distance from where they’d entered, but finally they arrived at the Special Events Table.
The Lady requested a hat from the person at the table. Her name might have been Danielle or Elise. She was very kind, and requested to see their Special Event Ticket. The Lady and her Husband held up their Season Ticket, Danielle/Elise said it was the wrong kind.
“It needs to be a Special Event Ticket. There’s a Symbol that should be right here,” she said, pointing to a blank spot on the ticket.
Not losing hope, the Lady patiently explained, “this is a Season Ticket. It’s a one-of-a-kind. I didn’t have to buy a ticket, because this one grants the holder access to any Chicago Cubs game near and far. So, may I have a hat, please?”
“Unfortunately, it has to have the Special Event Symbol or I can’t provide a Special Event hat. You need to speak with your Season Ticket Representative and they can update it for you. Just send them an email or make a phone call, and they’ll get it set up. I’ll be here until the 6th inning, so you can come back whenever.” Danielle/Elise shrugged and smiled, indicating it should be quite easy and that she expected to see the Lady back at her booth shortly.
The Lady understood the directions, and though a little disheartened that she couldn’t just have a hat as she’d come to expect from her Brother-In-Law’s instructions, the steps sounded simple enough.
A Sea of Faces
The Red Cap lay on the Special Events Table in a line with others that appeared exactly the same. Surrounded by clones, it shone brightly under the setting sun. Vibrant red, with a large white embroidered “C” on the front, an NIU Huskie on the side, it stood at attention. A red baseball cap usually signifies a team like Cardinals or Red Sox. Chicago Cubs caps tended to be bright, sunny blue, gray, or white. Red was an unusual choice. NIU’s colors were Black and Red, so, though not standard for this team, red was mildly appropriate. Except for the social context of a red hat at this time in history.
Again, the Red Cap didn’t know anything about the prickly ideas humans had about hats. It sat on the table filled with longing. Longing for a bigger purpose, a fulfilment of a missing piece, a sense of connection. The Red Cap watched the sea of faces flowing by and began to wonder if it wouldn’t be more enjoyable to sit atop someone’s head. Humans of all different shapes and appearances drifted around the table. Varying types and amounts of hair, limbs, and clothing with vibrant colors and textures. Heads with hats and open to air. It was an abundant wildflower garden of people. The Red Cap was intrigued by all the similarities and differences between all of these people. Far away, they looked very similar, but up close they were as different as dillweed and sunflowers. What they all had in common, the Red Cap noticed, was they all had heads. And heads are the ideal place for a hat.
The Red Cap pondered its purpose, beginning to feel the seed of an idea glow from within. “I’m supposed to be on one of those heads! I don’t belong in a box or on a table, I should be worn with pride by someone who knows what all my symbols mean. I need to get out of this line of clones!” And with that, the Red Cap straightened up as proud as it could, and hoped to be chosen and carried away.
It was then that a group of people came by, presented their ticket stubs, and were each given their own Chicago Cubs/NIU Huskies baseball cap. To the excitement of The Red Cap, it was picked up from the table, and handed to one of the people in the group. What luck! It was time! Like an answer to a prayer, The Red Cap was finally going to be placed atop a head and get to see the world. The Red Cap looked up hopefully from the hands that lifted it from the table, and into the face of a Man. The Man frowned at the Red Cap, then absentmindedly placed it in his bag and walked away.
The Red Cap was surprised to find itself in darkness again. The logical place to put a cap such as this was atop a head. How could the Red Cap see anything from here? It bumped against things that were hard, and got squeezed from the sides as it jostled around. It tumbled around, bouncing up and down in a rhythmic pace, until it finally dropped to a halt and remained in quiet darkness.
The Red Cap waited. And wondered.
Maybe the Frowning Man would bring the Red Cap out to see the game. Or maybe he was waiting to get it home to display proudly on a shelf. Perhaps it was a gift for his mother? Maybe the Man was afraid it would get stained by a passerby, and he was protecting it inside the bag until he could get it safely to his home.
As the Red Cap continued to wait, it began to think it was doomed to remain in uncomfortable darkness forever. Maybe it had been wrong about its purpose. Maybe it was just destined to be discarded. A feeling of despair swept through, and the darkness of the bag became a darkness in the Red Cap’s spirit.
The Red Cap quietly wept, a chorus of distant cheers and lively conversations, muffled and flat in the depths of the bag.
Unflappable and Tenacious
The Lady and her Husband continued to wander around the stadium. They made phone calls, sent emails, and drafted texts, attempting to contact the Season Ticket Rep. The Season Tickets belonged to a friend named Nick who was not at the game, but who was extremely helpful in trying to get this straightened out as timely as possible. Nick sent the same call for help to the Rep and waited for a response. And The Lady was worried the hats would be gone before they got a response, so she and her Husband asked a worker at the gate if there was any way to contact a Season Ticket Rep on-site. They suggested trying to get the ticket updated at the Ticket Booth.
They met a lovely lady named Judy on the way over who made sure they could re-enter once they left, as this was even farther outside the stadium where folks bought tickets to get in. The Lady approached the Ticket Booth and explained the situation to the April inside. She asked if there was a way to update the ticket from there, as they weren’t able to get in touch with the Rep. April wasn’t sure of the answer, and asked someone else to be sure.
“Unfortunately, we can’t update Season Tickets to Special Event tickets here. Only the Season Ticket Rep can update the Season Ticket. Just contact your Rep and they’ll take care of it”.
Another dead end.
The Lady wondered, what would happen if they couldn’t reach the rep. What if they ran out of hats? It was already a few innings into the game, and Danielle/Elise would be closing the Booth sooner than later. Time was of the essence.
The Lady persisted. She and her husband went to the Customer Service Desk and spoke with two very nice people, Ted and Miriah. Telling the same story, and also pointing out her NIU Alumni shirtfront, the Lady asked if there was anything that could be done to update the ticket or acquire a special hat.
“You’ll have to talk to your Season Ticket Rep and they’ll take care of it for you,” responded Miriah.
“Is there any way you can help me get a hold of her? We’re told she might be here at the stadium, but we can’t reach her any of the ways we’ve tried,” said The Lady.
Miriah walked to a back room, and came back a moment later.
“Did you call or email your Rep,” she asked the Lady.
“Yes, we’ve done both.”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing else to do. Just wait for her to get back to you and she can update your ticket,” said Miriah, and she smiled and shrugged, indicating she’d done all she could.
“Thank you so much for helping me figure this out. We’ll keep trying”.
And that was that. The final dead end. The Lady had done everything in her power to get a hat, and the only thing left to do was wait.
She and her Husband found seats in the bleachers and enjoyed a few innings of baseball and time together. They had a handful of kids at home with the Husband’s Mother (also known as a Mother-In-Law), and were savoring uninterrupted conversation together in the crowd. They chatted about the start of the school year, their memories attending games and concerts in the Friendly Confines, the work of parenting. They connected and reminisced. Their youngest child had been born the year the Cubs won the World Series. The first time in over a hundred years. It felt significant. It felt lucky.
In this moment, the lady had an idea…
Innings were passing quickly by, and they had still not gotten a response from the Season Ticket Rep. Nick sent an update that they might be able to get one after the game was over. It was a seed of hope, but it would have felt more special to leave from the game with hat in hand. The Lady had ventured out for a hotdog and a cold drink, and after a long wait in line and returning to her seat, she wondered if the hat was a lost cause. She and her husband had both enjoyed the evening together, but were a little disappointed for their Brother-In-Law that they couldn’t conjure a hat on his behalf. It was a weekday, a work night, and their kids second day of school was the next morning. They still had to walk, take a bus, and drive to get home, and their own bedtime was getting later and later. It was almost time to give up and go home.
It was in this final moment that the Lady had an idea.
She noticed a group of people a few rows ahead of them, wearing similar red hats. She knew the hats were Red Chicago Cubs NIU Huskies Baseball Caps, and she wondered if maybe one of them would be willing to sell theirs to an alumni. She was, afterall, wearing her NIU Alumni shirt. The Lady climbed down a few rows of bleachers and tapped on the shoulder of a stranger. He turned around, and greeting each other with a smile, the Lady briefly explained the situation.
“It’s getting late in the game, and we’ve tried everything to get a hat, but it’s looking like it’s not going to happen. Would you possibly be willing to let me buy your hat from you?” she asked with a smile and a shrug.
The gentleman’s smile faded a bit, and he said with a question, “my friend over there might have one he can spare. But I’m not looking to sell mine.” And he turned back around.
“Oh, thank you!” The lady exclaimed, and she wandered a little further to the left.
She tapped on this next stranger’s shoulder, and smiling as he turned around, she gestured to the first gentleman and said, “Hi, your friend over there said you might have an extra hat you are looking to get rid of, and I’d like to buy it”. She raised her eyebrows, and her face smiled questioningly.
The Frowning Man said, “no, I don’t want to sell it…”
The Lady thought that was the end of his sentence. She had felt very brave in talking to a stranger at all, let alone asking a stranger for such an unusual request. She would accept whatever answer she got, but was losing hope that this was going to end in her favor.
The Frowning Man went on, “you can just have it,” he said, reaching into his bag.
It was at that moment that the Red Cap suddenly came out into the light. It witnessed, with elation and awe, a sea of smiling faces and choir of joyful voices. And among the faces in that sea, The Red Cap was handed to a Smiling Lady who had worked so hard to find this one, particular, one-of-a-kind-in-a-box-of-many, hat.
The Smiling Lady couldn’t believe her luck!
The Smiling Lady thanked the Frowning Man, who did not smile, and offered one final time to pay him for his kindness. He declined, saying his girlfriend next to him went to NIU, and he was just here because of her. He didn’t want the hat anyway, and didn’t want money for it either. “You can just have it,” and he turned back around to continue watching the game.
The Smiling Lady couldn’t believe her luck! She was beaming as she returned to her husband, and told him about the kindness of the Frowning Man in the bleachers. They began leaving the game before it was over, singing the Seventh Inning Stretch in the bathroom.
Then they exited toward the Special Events booth, now vacant and dark. The boxes and hats were gone, and Danielle/Elise nowhere in sight. The Smiling Lady was appreciative of her own bravery and tenacity, and knew her Brother-In-Law would laugh when he heard how “easy” it was to get a free Chicago Cubs NIU Huskies hat at a night game on a Wednesday.
Humans are tribal. It’s in our nature, and part of our ancestor’s survival. We feel a guttural drive to team up, and define each other as “us” or “them”. Some tribes are inclusive, like those who wear tie dye rainbows, or who went to NIU, or who identify as Cubs Fans. Other tribes are exclusive, and are defined by who’s not allowed in.
Regardless of your tribe, it’s important to remember that, in the grand scheme of things, we’re all in the Tribe of Earthlings. If we always take action in the name of kindness, compassion, conservation, and hope, we will shine a light in the darkness for friends, family, and strangers.
The Frowning Man will probably never know how much joy he instilled in the Smiling Lady that day. Danielle/Elise, Larry, Fred, Judy, Darnell, Miriah, Danny and all the other folks at and around The Friendly Confines will likely never think twice about meeting the Smiling Lady that Wednesday night. But together, they’ve woven a beautiful tapestry about a Red Cap, and its journey to find the perfect head.
Love,
Jessie