"Plastic Flowers" - Emerson Lake & Palmer, 2003

Funny what happens to you during a walk to the office sometimes.

This morning, as I walked south on St Aldates in Oxford, one of society's less advantaged old men walked toward me from the opposite direction. He was dressed in clothing that had clearly seen better days. He had a long, grisly grey beard and hair to match. His shoes appeared to be barely holding together. He did, though, have a big grin on his face.

But what made him really stand out was the huge ladies' straw hat he was wearing. It was covered with all manner of colorful plastic flowers.

My first thought was to feel sorry for the poor guy. Doesn't he know he's wearing something really ridiculous? He must be a little crazy, right?

Then I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe, he's actually having more fun this morning than I am. He's expressing himself - while protecting his face from the British sunshine!

And you know, I'm quite certain that I wasn't grinning as much as he was. (At least that was true before I spotted him!)

So that's how my day started. How about yours?

Janet