All I ever wanted... all I ever needed...

Is here... in my arms...

Please forgive me for breaking out the Depeche Mode, but a very special part of my life has returned to me.

For those unfamiliar with the story, here goes. At the end of September, I returned home to Chicago for a pair of Sox-Indians games. After the Saturday night game, in which the Sox had lost their second straight against the Tribe, I set out for a night on the city with my best friends. Because I was furious at the Sox for losing both games, I refused to wear my Sox hat out. Instead, I grabbed one of the few hats I had stashed in my closet at home, and pulled out an old LA Dodger cap.

I'm not a Dodger fan, and this had nothing to do with the fact the Cubs were very likely to face the Dodgers in the playoffs. I have briefly discussed my baseball hat fetish in a previous post, and several members of my collection are of teams I have no rooting interest in. I just liked how the hat looked when I bought it. For some reason, this only realtes to baseball, as I refuse to have any football team hat other than the Bears, refuse to have any basketball hat other than the Bulls, and cannot wear any hockey hat other than my beloved Hawks. But baseball? For some reason I have no problem sporting a Mariners, Pirates, Marlins, or in this case, Dodgers hat. I guess the reason is the history of baseball team logos is richer and deeper than in any other sport.

So back to the story. I had caught some serious grief from JM about wearing it, and he was relentless throughout the night. Several bars and many drinks later, we were cabbing it to the last bar destination of the night. I made a joke that involved JM, and without any hesitation, he grabbed the Dodger hat off my head, and threw it out the moving cab.

JK just laughed. JM felt immediate remorse. I felt nothing. The hat meant nothing to me, as it could have easily been replaced. But JM felt really guilty. He apologized profusely the following day, and offered to buy me another. I refused. It wasn't necessary, and truth be told, I wanted to guilt trip him for eternity.

No such luck. JM bought me not just a replacement Dodger hat, but also a Phillies, Brewers, and White Sox hat. This was done under the agreement that I could no longer guilt trip him.

So now my teasured ballcap collection has increased by four. I'm happy to have the Dodger cap back as it does look really cool. The LA Dodger logo is timeless, one of the most recognizable in all of sports. And the Dodger blue just pops off the hat. Really, a beautiful hat.

But you know what? The hat is too clean, looks too new, and doesn't fit quite as nicely as the old one did, wherever it may be...

Words are very unecessary... they can only do harm...