I have always liked hats. I have worn big hats or little ones, whatever my need was at the time, but between the two of us, I prefer the large ones – the bigger, the better. Yep.

So why do I prefer big hats – to hide behind, of course? You might ask, why hide? You see in my storytelling world I become many characters, even several in one day. I become that person, not me. I really have tried to push Anne McKee out of the way and tell the stories as my selected character of that day would have. I tell in first person so it has always been necessary to rid myself of me, just for the story.

Have you ever asked your mind and personality to become someone else? It can get a little psycho. I remember a few years ago I was invited to the Mississippi Educators Convention. It was held at the big Gulf Coast Coliseum. As we drove south on that day, I practiced the story I had planned to tell.

Over and over during the two-hour drive I repeated the story, the characters and plot – oh, it was good. When I finally marched on stage, with my large hat securely in place, to present my story, I introduced myself as a character out of another story. I mean since I write all of the stories I tell who would know?

Well, hubs did. He later told me. When you began the story with the wrong name I couldn’t help but declare loudly, “She’s forgotten who she is.” He said several people turned to look at him, not me! Maybe they thought he was talking out of his head. I should mention he was not wearing a hat at the time.

I don’t believe I have forgotten my character’s name again during a performance. I try to remember who I am even though I do hide behind my hat, just in case. My hat is my safety net, my protector and my friend.

Storytelling is the most wonderful thing in my life, right now. The Lord has been so good to me. Hubs sez, “You’re full of it.” I know he means that I am oozing with stories that must be told. Really he does, I’m certain.

I have always been a storyteller even though I didn’t realize it for many years. My good, longtime friend, Brenda Flanagan Stewart, and I were telling stories on the playground of Highland Elementary School at six-years-old. While our classmates scampered across the field playing kickball, we sat in the corner telling stories. Now Brenda and I are both professional storytellers. It is wonderful.

Amazing that Brenda wears a hat as well while she tells the amazing story of Nebraska Read, the only woman buried in the Rose Hill Cemetery Confederate Mound. Brenda is a founding member of The Rose Hill Cemetery Costumed Tour. When we were children, at six years of age, I probably never had a single thought that Brenda and I would continue telling stories for so many years, but we have and we love it.

Two more Rose Hill Company storytellers who enjoy the “hat-thing” are Carolyn Starnes and Carol Sue Wiggins. Carolyn portrays, Marjorie Woods Austin, Founder of Meridian Little Theatre. Her hat is quiet a creation, made with a feather on top, styled from the fashions of the 1930s and Carol Sue, as Mary Wynne Shackelford, dons a large black hat with a big pink flower to the side, which is reminiscent of the style worn during the early 1900s. When I see Carol Sue’s hat, I think of women’s suffrage era.

My hat’s time periods range from the 1850s to the 1950s – yep, 100 years. That is one-hundred years of storytelling periods, not one-hundred years of me; however I have great hope to continue my storytelling until that time. Oh my, that means I can look forward to many more years of “hat-hair” because once the hat is removed; one’s hair is squashed beyond help, which is another reason to wear a large hat.

If you have never hidden behind a hat, then give it a try. It can be a life-changing event, even if for just a little while.

Anne McKee is a Mississippi historian, writer and storyteller. She is listed on the Mississippi Humanities Speakers Bureau and Mississippi Arts Commission’s Artist Roster. See her website: www.annemckeestoryteller.com.