We all have things that, despite the fact that we know they've long outlived their true usefulness, we aren't willing to let go. For me, at least, it was a hat. Just a blue ball cap that my then-girlfriend-now-wife gave to me long ago. I'm not a big guy, so many baseball caps just look stupid on me, but this one hat in particular fit me like a glove. The bill was frayed completely across the front, there were holes in it, and it didn't look as though it would survive even a gentle-cycle washing. Eventually, my wife bought me a replacement and I threw it away...still, I miss it, and nothing I have now feels as comfortable to me as that hat did.
So, when I saw this hat, I had to pick it up.
I found it while on a bicycle ride down 116th Street in Fishers, IN. Look at the sweat ring around the brim. Notice the frayed bill. This was a hat that was loved, and yet it was on the sidewalk along this relatively busy street. I imagine the owner might have stuck his head out the window of a moving car to enjoy a little fresh air. He felt the call of the wild, and the hat blew into the street. I'm sure he was distraught. I'm sure he begged the driver (probably his girlfriend) to stop and let him retrieve his prized hat, as only someone without a hat such as this would be so callous as to allow it to remain on that sidewalk.
So I brought that hat home, gently cleaned it, and did some research to discover what I could about its owner. Best I can tell, this is a Brooks County Trojans hat. If that's the case, this hat hails from Quitman, Georgia. GEORGIA? How'd it end up in Fishers, IN? I'd love to find out.
Are you the owner
of this hat? Do you know who it might have belonged to? It's a "Nu-Fit" hat, size S/M. I gave it a good soaking in some gentle detergent, and it looks a bit better...but still "well-loved". If it's yours, or you know it's story, email me and I'm happy to return it to its owner.
