I've got a friend from Texas. You can tell he's from Texas, because he tells you every seven seconds.

Most of his sentences start with "back in Texas". His accent is also a dead giveaway. Like other Texans, he's rich. Old money, mostly coming from old oil-related land concessions. Like other Texans, he's rich, in that his family is rich.

He's a cool guy, and he often gives me stuff for free. He once gave me a pair of Texas boots, which I often wear in the winter, and a pair of sneakers, which I sometimes wear in the summer.

He also gave me a hat once. It reads "Texas."

It's a cool hat. I like hats. I have about 40 of them.

I'm not a collector, by the way. I'm an accidental collector. I probably bought 5-6 hats in total, and the other 30-odd hats I have are just there. I don't know how I got them, but because of my job, I get a lot of cheap and useless stuff for free, so I'm assuming I must've received for free because of work.

Anyway, long story short, a while back, I travelled to a major African capital. One of those mega-cities that are on the rise, and I was having a drink at one of those chain hotels that are everywhere, and the bartender said "cool hat!".

I said thanks. And kept drinking my drink.

Then he asked: "Where did you get it?"

"I got it from a friend," I said. Then I paused. And I asked: "You want it?"

He said yes. So I left it on the counter, and then maybe half an hour later he took it - maybe he was allowing an extra 30 minutes in case I changed in my mind.

In principle, I don't necessarily like regifting gifts, but I do when it feels right. And it felt right.

And I'm going through a phase where I'm trying to detach myself from stuff. As in, physical items. Things.

So I gave him my hat, and I took a fancy coaster. Seemed like a fair trade, I guess.