Cousin Nannie Belle's Hats

Cousin Nannie Belle's Hats

My cousin Nannie Belle has always said that no matter what ya' do in life - don’t forget to have fun. Nannie Belle has fun wearin’ hats.

She has all kinds of hats. She picks ‘em up whenever she goes anywhere. She has hats that light up, hats that play music ‘n hats with movin' parts. She has hats shaped like every imaginable animal. She even has a hat shaped like a big old wedge of Swiss cheese that Uncle Buford picked up for her when he was drivin’ tha' Northern route that took him through Wisconsin.

She always gets a lot of laughs when she wears her hats. Nannie Belle takes tha' Biblical command to visit tha' sick seriously. Every week she makes tha' long drive to tha' county medical center. She goes up ‘n down tha' halls in her crazy hats stoppin’ in all tha' rooms. The nurses say you can always tell tha' room Nannie Belle is in because of all tha' loud laughter comin’ out of it.

To me her funniest hat is a plain pointed brown felt hat she won her at tha' Frog Holler Fall Festival by tossin’ pennies into little cups of water. It was too plain to suit her so she decided to enter tha' turkey chase. A lot of people enter tryin' to catch tha turkey so they can fattin’ him up for their Thanksgiving dinner.

Nannie Belle didn’t really care if she caught tha' turkey or not, she just wanted some feathers to decorate her hat with. The chase was held in an old corral. There had been a good bit of rain so tha' ground was muddy ‘n there was a big puddle right in the middle. Nannie Belle chased that turkey round ‘n round slippin’ and slidin’ in tha' mud. She finally got hold of some tail feathers ‘n held on tight. Wouldn’t you know that turkey would run right through tha' puddle!  Nannie Belle overbalanced ‘n fell flat on her face in tha' mud. Still layin’ face down she lifted her arm in triumph with three big turkey feathers clutched in her hand.  The crowd roared.

Nannie Bellie knows how to enjoy life by makin' others chuckle or laugh. Now, whenever I see Nannie Belle wearin’ her brown hat with the turkey feathers stuck in the band I can’t help but think of her lyin’ in the mud puddle ‘n laugh.

Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Things To Think 'bout:

1. Do you laugh some every day?

2. What does humor 'n laughter have to do with God?

Lord, give us tha' gift of laughter 'n help us to share it with others. In tha' name of Jesus, amen.

Laughter is good for the soul! Enjoy at least a couple of 'belly' laughs every day!