Red Hat Lady

We have a group of ladies from our church who meet once a month for lunch. We are called the red hat ladies. Thus far no one has worn a red hat. Till yesterday and I decided to wear a red hat. Not too bad for an old lady. I picked up my red hat at the clothes line, free. I will be looking for a summer one for Florida. This will be one way to meet a few ladies in the trailer court, as I am told they have a club going as well.
No rules , if we want to wear purple with the red, that is just fine. we get together just to have fun and get to know each other more. I am reading the book The Red Hat Society. Fun and Friendship After Fifty. written by Sue Ellen Cooper. It is her story how and why she started the society.
Here is a poem she read on a t shirt which inspired her,

WARNING
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple,
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin sandals , and say we've no money for butter.
I shall set down on the pavment when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slipper in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickles for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We will have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old and start to wear purple.
Jenny Joseph