Keep your hat on - it’s a hard choice, I know | Life in Ludlow

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Things seem to be quiet and slow as we hunker down and succumb to the seemingly endless cycles of COVID spikes up and down. My efforts to find good and fun news to relate to you seem to be thwarted at every turn. 

Advice on the kind of masks seems to have settled on the N95s or KN95s so I ordered a package of the N95s from Amazon. 

Upon opening the package was surprised to find a package of “Wisconsin Snack Sticks.” I actually think it is the first time I got the wrong item from Amazon and there must be a story somewhere in their warehouse. 

Many codgers like me tend to occasionally buy a ballcap. My collection seems vast according to BJ but it may not be as large as yours. The hats I have also carry a story of some kind whether it is travel, sports teams, cars, colleges, etc. Given the pandemic-induced slow news pace this week, I would like to relate stories associated with some of those hats.

The most recognized hats locally are the Seahawks and the Mariners. Several years ago the Seahawks played the Kansas City Chiefs in Seattle so I bought tickets for my son and son-in-law to go see the game with me. I do have a Chiefs sweatshirt which I wore on the Bainbridge ferry inducing 30 minutes of good-natured harassment by the Seahawks fans. 

When I arrived at the stadium my son and son-in-law had mercifully purchased a Seahawks hat so I could cheer for both sides. Others sitting near us provided some alcohol-fueled comments about my flexibility. (The Chiefs won.) 

The Durham Bulls hat I occasionally wear has a bull jumping through the “D.” It always generates charges that I must be a Denver Broncos fan.

The biggest revenue item for colleges has to be the “merch” they sell to folks like me. I have hats from my children’s alma maters, Dartmouth and Duke, from my grandson’s Macalester, my own Wabash and the local colleges, Seattle University and University of Washington. (BJ had a hat from DePauw but she donated it to Terry Umbreit.) 

The UW hat was purchased when we went to see Kelsey Plum lead the UW Women’s Basketball Team several years ago. Now of course, she is on the Las Vegas pro team which beat the Seattle Storm last season. However, she was an Olympian last summer when her “3-on-3” team took the gold medal in the first time the event was in the Olympics.

Then there are ski hats from all the hills upon which I have left blood, sweat and tears, not to mention a surgery in Vail created by a fall at Beaver Creek. I have hats from Steamboat, Beaver Creek, Vail, Red Mountain, Bachelor, Whistler and more. I have a hat from Anthony Lakes, a small ski area over in Eastern Oregon. BJ and I had spent the night in Baker City on our way back from skiing in Colorado and decided to take a day to ski there. I keep a list of the areas I and my children have skied and adding Anthony Lakes to that list gave me an entry they would likely not ever have.

Another one is Snow Creek in Weston, Missouri. I actually taught skiing there for a year. The first student I had generated a $10 tip from her mother, an event never repeated. 

Of course, the hat rack is full of Porsche hats from one event or another due to a long interest in Porsche. Friends would understand the Mini Cooper hat. 

I also have a Ferrari hat. We had been tourists in Italy for a couple of weeks and were in the Milan airport preparing to fly home. My pocket had some Italian currency I was looking to spend before we departed and there was a Ferrari store in the airport’s concourse. Therefore, my collection includes one rarely seen Ferrari ballcap.  

Yep, I do have a Port Ludlow cap as well as lots more, all of them with stories to tell. 

Finally, don’t forget Rita Rudner’s observation that “Men who are going bald often wear baseball caps.” I confess. 

Love a curmudgeon, keep your hat on and have a great week! 

(Ned Luce is a retired IBM executive and Port Ludlow resident who knows when to put a lid on it. Reach Ned at ned@ptleader.com.)