I am not very good at keeping up with the latest trends in men’s apparel. I am content to wear a pair of Levis and my t-shirt that says: Old Guys Rule on the back. I can even be seen a freshly starched shirt with a tie periodically too. During a recent school shopping run to Kohl’s the boys informed that scarves were stylish for men. You have got to be kidding?

I immediately had flashbacks to my formative years. My mother wore hideous looking scarves around her head to keep her 1960’s poufy hairstyle from being destroyed by the wind coming off of Lake Michigan. Now my mother was a very pretty woman, but the scarves were anything but stylish. As we looked at scarves for members of the male gender, my mind also flashed back to a more recent event…

We have a close friend who has a 20 year old daughter. I have always wondered what it would be like to have a girl. Watching our friend raise her daughter, who is the same age as our firstborn son, has given me some good insight as to what such an experience could have been like. While Randall was doing what typical 15 year old boys do, this young lady was diagnosed with Lupus.

Lupus is a strange and complicated disease. One of my sisters teaches in a medical school, so I immediately consulted with Dr. Kerry Knox about such a diagnosis in the life of a 15 year old girl. Her response to my inquiry was not at all encouraging.

The young lady experienced all sorts of testing procedures, treatments and lengthy hospital stays. The treatment strategy ultimately led to a hospital associated with the University of Chicago. A highly risky procedure involving stem cells ensued. The process also involved a regimen of chemotherapy. A beautiful 17 year old girl faced the loss of all of her hair.

She and her mother visited a high end boutique situated on the first floor of the Chicago hotel where the family was staying. (I think boutique is the correct term to refer to such a place.) They were searching for scarves to cover her head during the chemotherapy ordeal. The wind coming off of Lake Michigan can be very cold in the fall and winter…

They found a handmade scarf that was stylish, but the price tag would scare off anyone who works for a living! They quietly put it back in its rightful place at the boutique. You have to realize that my friends from rural Oklahoma have never met a stranger. And I am quite sure they were somewhat of a novelty in downtown Chicago. Mother and daughter are beautiful people on the outside and on the inside too…Their story naturally came out during the course of discussion with the employee at the boutique.

Later that afternoon there was a knock on the door of my friends’ hotel room. A delivery person presented them with a mysterious box. When they opened the unexplained package, there were several handmade scarves staring them in the face. The accompanying note explained that the employee of the boutique had contacted the lady who had crafted the scarves. She wanted the young girl undergoing chemotherapy to have them as a gift.

Scarves are stylish for men this year. I think I may purchase one at Kohl’s to wear under my wool coat this winter. It can serve as an important symbol. It can be a symbol of generosity and compassion. It can remind me to be aware of strangers around me, who are trying to maneuver about in a strange city. I suppose I will indeed purchase a scar this week, but today I need to realize that there may be some form of a scarf that I need to give to someone else. I wonder if the wind coming off Lake Michigan is cold today?