Where I come from a man’s ball cap is his calling card. His brand. It is a staple. Above the functional bill generally indicates what he supports. It could be a business, politician, a school, sports team or motto. Much like the physical state of a child’s stuffed animal, the rough condition of a ball cap indicates how well loved it is by its owner. If the wearer is a gentleman, he knows to remove it during prayer, at the dinner table, in the church pew and during the Pledge of Allegiance. When I was a young girl it was generally said that a man should take his hat off indoors. Men rarely do that anymore. Women wear ball caps today as well. I personally own several. In addition to the aforementioned situations, in the old days, it was customary for a gentleman to remove his hat when entering someone’s home, inside public buildings, such as a courthouse or school, the movies, during the National Anthem, when being introduced to someone, and any instance in the presence of our flag. Our etiquette about quite a few things has loosened over the years.

There was a time when it seemed that people were more steeped in tradition and etiquette. They got their local news from a newspaper and kept score during Major League Baseball games on score cards. Today, many believe Facebook opinions are news and spectators have their heads down in their phones during ball games.

People used to value the things they held to be tried and true. They knew to leave with the person who brought them. These days you can watch ethics change in the wind. We live in a society where we observe people justify and rationalize their decisions all the time and sell out their integrity on a daily basis.

Today, I wonder if people are loyal to anything. Everything is branded and if you’re on social media, you know that people get paid to be influencers to push products. Some of which, don’t even work or aren’t of good quality. People are even influenced to build their own brand. It makes one wonder if our integrity or character were our brand, what would it reveal about us? What if we each worked just as hard to influence the world to be a better place and to encourage others?

As much as I love social media apps, in some ways they are changing the values of our society. As I watch grown people worry about their number of followers, views, popularity and doing whatever is necessary to be liked, I wonder how it is affecting our impressionable young people. One has to have a strong sense of self to survive in this world and online; the bullying can be even more fierce. There can be a lot of rejection there. If a person doesn’t know who they are, what they value and have their feet planted firmly on the ground, they can lose themselves.

I cherish traditions over trends. I like what I like. I once had a wallet that I bought when I was sixteen at a local clothing store. The store is no longer in existence, but in it’s time, people of our small community could purchase nice clothing without having to travel 30-60 miles. The Prince Gardner wallet was made of brown buttery leather. I loved the feel of it. I carried it until I was well into my thirties. It was only replaced because I received another as a gift.

Buying a new purse is an endeavor that takes time. It has to be the right one and I won’t know it until I see it. As you can imagine, I don’t change purses very often. I have carried the same small black leather backpack that I found at a leather outlet about five years ago. It’s perfect. It carries what I need. I can swing it over my shoulder or carry it by the strap. Recently I received a red larger leather backpack-style bag for my birthday. I like it. The jury is still out whether it is as good as the black backpack.

I’m a person who keeps things. When I have something I love I hang on to it. I’m a “I’d rather have a few close friends, than one hundred fake friends” type of person. I wear one scent. I know there are people who have many scents they enjoy wearing to match the occasion, or their mood. I prefer wearing a single scent that I love. I favor wearing a select few pieces of jewelry over changing beads and bangles every day. I generally don’t buy things to be purchasing something. I am content to wait until I find what I want. Whether it concerns personal relationships or purchases, I don’t settle.

Life comes down to small things, doesn’t it? It’s the clasp of a hand, the taste of good chocolate, love notes, a laugh that comes suddenly from your core, old books that smell like secrets, hearing a favorite song, the loyalty of a good friend and delicious conversations that make you think. There are so many simple pleasures that make life enjoyable if we stop to appreciate them. Some things do get better with time, like traditions and values. Hopefully this applies to people as well.

Pam Lowe is the editor of the Clay County Courier, a CherryRoad Media newspaper in Corning, Arkansas. Readers may contact Pam at plowe@cherryroad.com