The Cap
It was a simple cap. no distinguishing features. It was purchased second hand at a thrift shop. It was meant to keep my head warm. It was meant to be different than all of the baseball caps that I usually wore. It’s hard to describe what it looks like. To me, it was more like an old-style cab driver’s cap. Raised back, with adjustable buckle, flat on top, and made out of light brown corduroy material. The front did have a snap-on it so that I could pull it down deeper on my head or keep it buttoned so the front looked thin. It only stuck out about an inch in the front, unlike a baseball cap which sticks out about three inches. A baseball cap’s front is made of hard cardboard. This cap was all material.
I just purchased it to be different. Little did I know that that cap would identify me as a storyteller.
Most storytellers have clothing attire that makes them look a little different when performing. For some, it is a very colorful shirt or outfit. One you would not normally wear at a public gathering unless you were in Bermuda or at some Polynesian feast. Others wear period or culturally appropriate clothing. These work well if you are doing a historical story. Then there are those that dress up in dressy clothes bow tie, jacket, good shoes, fancy pants, and the like.
I had none of these. My attire was usually t-shirts with my logo on them and jeans. Then came the hat.
I decided to wear the hat a few times while telling stories. One day when I was about to perform in the school I was teaching in for an assembly I was introduced to the kids by my principal as follows. “Everyone here knows Mr. Heilbrun as a teacher, but sometimes he puts on a special hat and he magically changes. He becomes a storyteller.”
I had not prompted my principal to say that. He had seen me telling stories in school and noticed the hat. He made the connection.
So this ordinary hat became my signal to my school audience that I was no longer in teacher mode; I was a storyteller. I kept that hat and have had a few different ones over time, even baseball caps. Regardless of whether or not I am wearing them, kids now know that I’m a storyteller. I guess I just exude that kind of look. But still, this ordinary hat does transform me. It helps me get into the mood or my groove of being a storyteller.
And that’s my story.
