At least once a year I blog about my favorite winter hat. No other hat is as warm and comfy, or as static-free. I milked cows for twenty or so years wearing this very stocking cap. Somewhere along the line Cliff borrowed it and realized it was the best stocking hat he'd ever come across.
So for a long time, we shared it. If it wasn't time to milk the cows, Cliff was allowed to use it.
We acquired this perfect hat as a result of Cliff's youngest sister getting a divorce back in the 70's. Her ex's brother worked on the pipeline in Alaska and had given it to them as a Christmas gift. Charlene had no use for it, and I latched onto it like a dog on a bone.
Once in awhile Cliff would stay outside past milking time, and I was left hatless. So when I stumbled upon another stocking cap that I'd had for years but never worn down in the depths of a junk drawer, I decided to try it out. It wasn't as good as the Alaska hat, but it was a close second. Debbie, a co-worker of Cliff's, had given it to me for Christmas in 1980 or 81 and it was still like new.
Now Cliff and I each had our own cold-weather hat.
Every once in awhile the Alaska hat comes up missing, and both of us worry and fret until it shows up again. During one such disappearance two or three years back, Charlene took pity on us and decided to look for another hat that would be just as serviceable and warm as our favorite.
She found this at a Harley-Davidson dealer. Her reasoning was that Harley riders ride in all kinds of weather, so this ought to be the warmest hat in the world.
Now I appreciated the thought behind her gift, but please... look at that hat! It doesn't even have any edge to turn up! It hung unused on a peg behind the door at our old house we moved, and then I put it in a drawer.
Recently I ran across the Harley hat and realized it might possibly be made to wear under a motorcycle helmet; I put it with our other gear to try out in cold weather.
Thursday when we left on our ride, it was in the upper thirties and I remembered to put it on.
I can't begin to tell you how much warmer my head was with that hat lining my helmet!
So, Charlene, from the bottom of my heart I thank you: This hat didn't serve the original purpose for which you bought it, but it now has a much nobler purpose; it helps keep me warm on those winter-time motorcycle rides!
