Club Obi Wan

I just got an email from a fellow Indy fan, and this was a fellow who had cancer, and wanted an Indy fedora, a CS fedora, as he was about to go through his treatments. He was a special case, with me, and I had to move his order up for obvious reasons. I want to share his email but will remove his real name.

And this is why this job is so rewarding to me personally. I got to the shop at 5 am this morning, checked my email,and this one here came in a few days ago, and I just worked my way down to it. I wish I could have responded back to him earlier, but that's life these days, as I get tons of emails in each week.

It's %%%% %%%%% from Massachusetts Just wanted to let you know that I have enjoyed wearing your hat & have proudly told others at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. There is some truth to having faith & when someone kind puts you first in line to crafting the Indiana jones hat, it lifts you up.

Glad to hear about your success. And like to share good news that I am in remission and your hat gave me rush of excitement and took my mind off everything. It was a great distraction and gave me hope.

I responded and thanked him, wished him well, and told him I always said I only made "lucky hats". Although we have to give credit to the Good Lord first and foremost. This email from him started off my day with hope and good things, and this is the greatest reward I can get, when I get emails like this one. So, let's keep this unnamed Indy fan in our prayers, and I will do so as well. Mods, feel free to move this if there is a more appopropiate section. Regards, Fedora

Good for you and great for your customer. These are the messages that make the world a brighter place to live.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Great to hear…or read.

Maybe you should change the logo to the Grail. Seems to have healing powers.

Best to both maker and recipient.

That's a really nice story. Thank you

it lifted my spirits too Fedora.

Definitely!

As the other COW members wrote here... things like these lift the spirit.
It warms the heart....

Thanks for sharing this with us Steve... you're a true hero!!!!
And I gladly tip my hat for you

Great story Steve.

Praise God for the recovery, and thanks to you for bumping the gent up on your list. I'm sure there's not a person waiting who would want it any other way.

Agreed that all should take a moment and send a quick prayer as they see fit for the full recovery for the fan.

Yes, this is one of those rewards that is real reward. To think that a hat cheered this guy up, made his life a little bit less trying is all that anyone could ever ask for. It's not often that I can really make a difference, even a small one in another's life, so it is a treasure to me personally. I won't ever forget this.

Not too far in the past, I got a lovely letter from a 13 year old Indy fan, who lived on farm, and who's family could not afford one of my hats. So, the lad went to work in his spare time to save up enough to buy my rabbit hat. Now, how in the world could I charge this kid the full price? I could not do it. So, as I told Michaelson recently, off line, I made this great kid(you would have to have read his letter to understand) a hat and charged him only for the felt body, as I believe in working and saving up. I did not just give it away, because he worked to pay the price for the felt, and he had to labor to own one. But I did hit him a lick, and got an invite to ride horses on their farm if I am ever in the area.

Way back, I used to just give my hats away to folks that were die hard fans but could not afford one. These days, while I would still do it, the work load prohibits it. The fact is, I actually enjoy giving em away more than selling em. But you can't buy bodies and parts if you do that for long.

But my pleasure is derived from helping folks, and that sort of pleasure cannot be had by any other act that I know of. As I get closer to the end of my own life, I finally realized that giving is the real treasure of life, and giving while expecting nothing in return. This kid above will aways remember the hat I made for him, and that I hit him a lick. So, for as long as he lives, I live, if only in his memory, and perhaps my own example to him will be the example that he lives by as he grows and turns into a man. What better example could I have set for him? I think indivdual acts CAN affect the lives of others in positive ways. My only fault is that I have not sown enough good seeds in my life. But, you can't go back and change things. But I can try to make up for it, I guess, whenever I can. And I will.

While hatting has been very profitable to me, it never was my intent to make much money doing this. I was doing this for other reasons, mostly because of the love of the Indy fedora, and how difficult it was for me to find one way back that I was pleased with. So, it is strange to me, that I started out with no intention of ever making much money by making hats, yet, I have made alot of money from making hats. But Indy 4 caused that to happen. Yet, the money really held no importance to me, but making the Indy 4 hats is priceless. I mean, a dream come true. I have been the luckiest guy to ever walk the earth. Sometimes things just happen, and you did not seek it, although you dreamed it. And that seems to be my life's story. I never thought back 10 years ago that I would be involved in producing the 4th Indy hat, as it seemed impossible. But apparently it was not impossible, thanks to a series of events that involved other members here in being contacted to make the hats. IF NOT for other people, who are fans, someone else would have been contacted and not us. Therefore I can take no credit for it, yet others can. You know who you are. If a certain fan had not been at Peter's when he got the call, and if he had not suggested me and Marc, things would have turned out differently. This guy never tried to take any credit either, as I found out from another person that he had suggested to Peter, to tell Bernie about us. So, we got help from a guy who never mentioned it to us. We owe him a lot, that is for sure. Miracles do happen. And there are more generous folks on this earth than other sorts.

Thanks for sharing this with us Steve. You're a good man.

Weston

That's a lovely post Steve

I'm not a religious person. I don't believe in a god. I don't believe in an afterlife. However, I do think we can live on in other peoples memories, and that to me, is the best I can aspire to. People remember the little kindnesses and the big ones. I know how fondly I remember my own grandparents becasue they were such lovely people. I also remember my grandfather telling me about how brave the pilot of his Lancaster crew was in WW2. Because of my grandfathers memories of Flying Officer Francis Randall (DFC) I in turn will not forget him- even though I never knew him. To be remembered as a good person is the best thing that can happen

Thats a great story, Steve. Its a wonderful feeling to feel fulfilled like that - to know youve made such an important difference in someone's life even its not so obvious on the surface. Youre a good man, Charlie Brown!

That's a great story Steve. Thanks for sharing with us.

it is good to know that there are people in this world who care enough for others to give a part of themselves to them. i am proud to be an owner of one of your hats. may you be continuously blessed in all that you do.


-jlhampton

Well said, Steve.

Thanks for sharing those stories, We can all learn from them!

Great to know there is still compassion and humanity out in this world. I tip my hat to you Steve!

Steve, thanks for sharing this! I assure you, that your work is important to each of us. Work, done right, is an act of worship. The quality work you do, and the kind way in which you do it, reflect well the One who made you! Keep on keeping on, my friend!

Heartfelt Thanks for sharing these words, Steve...

To echo what my fellow Indy fans here have each said in their own way, it's stories and experiences like this that really lifts the spirits.

Sure.

bink is standing right over there. I'll hold your coat.

Regards! Michaelson

I was thinking the same thing. How cool it would be to see Bink and _ mix it up.

Oh, anyway, these are the threads that make zippers and pocket flaps seem down right silly.

A good day to be checking the boards.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

It all balances out over time, Jeff.

Regards! Michaelson

Indiana Jeff wrote:I was thinking the same thing. How cool it would be to see Bink and _ mix it up.

Problem is that if such a thing were to happen, it would be disastrous. You do know what happens when matter and antimatter combine, right? It's bad news for everybody. Besides, I like _ too much to beat him up.

Steve, you're a great example of the people we stay here for.

LJ

I was thinking the same thing LJ, "come for the gear, stay for the people". Steve, thank you for sharing that story. Hearing stories like that renews my faith in the good of mankind. You are a good man. I consider it an honor to own a hat made by you.

Thank you for reminding me why I decided to buy a hat from you.

It is easy to forget that there are a lot of genuinely decent people in the world.

What a great post to read (as a first topic) while coming back after months and months of absence. That's why I'll never forget I'm a proud member of COW.

A wonderful experience. And a truly kind act. And for both of you, an adventure that would make Indian Jones envious. Keep up the good and hard work!