Sammy Horner - Not Your Average Celt 
The Green Jacket 05/10/2011
 
          It has been with me for such a long time I feel like it is a part of me.  Friends bought it many years ago and although I have often been a hard man to buy a gift for, they got this one completely right.  It looked like an old military fatigue jacket, but it was not made for the military…more likely it was knocked together by some high street menswear department store gunning for the trendy macho type and, if that was the case they had missed their mark when it found me.   It was, of course, green and had both zipper and stud fastenings just so you could always be sure that you would be sheltered from the elements.  Inside it had a drawstring so you could pull the waist tight to stop wind blowing up and around you.  It looked every inch an action garment, except for few flaws. First of all, it wasn’t waterproof and secondly it was made of light material and therefore was not very warm in icy winds. 
          In spite of these flaws I instantly loved the jacket, and in fact it’s flaws made it perfect for my purposes.  It offered enough shelter to me in most cases, but this jacket was light, very light, and it had a lot of pockets…something that any traveller will know, can only be useful.   The garment also showed amazing resilience.  I have stuffed it full of books, cd’s, DVD’s music players, phones, chargers, coins, candy, gifts and a myriad of other objects. Never once has a pocket seam ripped or torn in spite of the abuse.  I have worn it in monsoon rains, sub zero conditions and scorching heat and it has done it’s job well as another layer in the cold, or as a sun and wind screen in the heat…and those pockets still held out. Carrying the things I needed close to me…they never gave up yet.
          It has been soaked, scorched, stained and damaged yet it keeps on holding itself together and doing its job. I had to take a knife to it twice…just to cut off some bits that were busted, loose threads that were dragging, so it has its scars.  It is a little tattered around the cuffs now, little grazes and pulls in the cloth show it’s battles against thorns and nails and if I am honest it is showing its age a little more these days.
          This one piece of clothing reminds me of places and times, of scars and wounds, of getting a little bit more worn out but still holding it together enough to have the things I need close to me.  It is like a good friend, the one who helped cut the broken bits away from me, help take a knife to the bits that were dragging me down…you know who you are and I am deeply indebted to you.
          It has come on every tour with me for over 12 years now. It has seen everything I have seen and never once let me down.  For years I looked for a new one, but never found one that could travel lightly with me…one who knew just how much to carry…one who would survive the rigors of the road and could still do what it was made for even after the damage.  That is rare.  
          This year I did something I have never done before on solo tour…..I just never could.  I left my jacket in one place while I went on tour…it was symbolic for me.  I left it with one I trusted to care for it and not throw it away as a rag.  I returned to it and it flew away with me, but I knew something new…there is a new garment for me to wear….if I wear it lightly it will travel well with me.  It may sustain some road damage, but I think it will keep all the things I need close to me.
          I love this old worn and damaged thing…in spite of it’s limitations it had been a good and faithful servant and owes me nothing…I will keep it for sure…but sometimes you just need to be aware that the new thing has it’s time…and letting the old thing go allows room…. the new thing has scars and marks, it has weathered storms and tempests…if I have loved my old green jacket surly I can love this now…
The kind of man I am makes me want the thing that does the job…..i am never put off by a few scars…especially the ones worth talking about……..

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