That just looks like really great fun on several levels. It's really cool that you were a full part of: Big Kudos.
In about '71 a friend and I went to pick up another friend who we were teaching to play American football-we were part of a 'sandlot' league and Tony wanted to play in the worst way, but he'd immigrated from Poland just in time for High School and had never played.
Anyway, we went to pick him up and my buddy was wearing a 'Mao' cap that was very fashionable and may have been a political statement. When we got to the door Tony's father answered and said "Weaver. You can not come in my house with that hat." Weav put the hat in the car and we went in. In broken English he explained that that was the hat that the guards wore in the forced labor camp he was in during WWII. It was that night that we found out that Tony's dad and mother had both been married with young families when the war broke out and all of both their families were killed. They met and married and had Tony after the war. Their miracle.
We drank a lot of beer that night, and never did make it to practice. Tony ended up being a pretty damn good defensive lineman.
Which is a lot of words to say I understand the hat. Sorry about the length but sometimes I just have to tell stories of people I've known so that they don't die with me.
What a beautiful story. My mother has a similar aversion to black riding boots, since she spent 4 years in a basement in Holland. She spent YEARS seeing the German boots at eye height as a young girl.
How lovely that the connection people make STAYS WITH US. They can be shared and the feelings somehow DO reverberate and echo always.
Tony's parents sound amazing and remind me somewhat of mine - they also met in a resettlement housing area in Holland after the war (my father a white Indonesian interned by the Japanese). And yes, like Tony's family they emigrated to give us a better life in Australia.
How strong are symbols right? That the sight of something like the Mao cap can evoke horror. Funnily enough here in Thailand, they have to have public announcements explaining to people that dressing for Halloween as Hitler is bad taste for ex-servicemen - Thai people simply have no connection or interest in WW2, having had no active role other than to create a Treaty of Passage for the Japanese.
Life is rich and fascinating and I'm glad Tony learned how to play and became a good defensive lineman. 😍
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.