Do Birkenstocks Go With Cowboy Hats?

My Dad came through town the day after my parents-in-law were here.  He's kind of like a rock star to my Littles.  He drives a shiny red pickup, wears a cowboy hat and boots, and he generally has hunting equipment with him.  Pretty exciting stuff.

One of my young sons asked me if my Poppa was a policeman.  "No," I answered.

"Is he a soldier?" was the next question.

"No."

Then there was a long pause and my son looked a little worried for a moment before he asked in a timid voice, "Is he a bad guy?"

That's when I realized that in our suburban and yuppy-ish environment we didn't have enough categories.  My son didn't have a name for, "responsible retired professor with a family farm in Texas who occasionally has to kill rabid or sick or hurt animals out where there are no city services".  Nor did my son have a category for, "responsible hunter who hunts for the table".

I guess my social study's Scope and Sequence failed us.  That's okay, the fail made for all sorts of fun jokes about Poppa and possible new career paths.



In answer to this post's title: if you are raised on a farm in West Texas but spend your adult life teaching graduate school on the East Coast then Birkenstocks can definitely go with your cowboy hat- but only if you are strolling with  your grandchildren.  They will, of course, have license to tease you.