I guess you could call me a man of many hats

When it comes to hats, apparently I’ve long been ahead of the curve on wearing them.

While perusing the Internet recently, I came across an article about bringing back the hat in manly fashion. Of course, except for a brief rebellious period in high school, I’ve always worn a hat. (I’ve even written about it before, but it’s been so many years I thought I could reboot it, like the “Batman,” “Superman” and “Spider-Man” movies.)

In family photos, there are pictures of me as a boy wearing a hat. There’s one of me when I was 5 or 6, holding a chocolate birthday cake with flaming candles, while I’m wearing my cowboy hat. I looked sharp, as well as cherubic, innocent and clean-shaven. None of those lasted very long, except wearing the hat.

Besides a cowboy hat, back then one of my favorite pieces of head wear was an orange baseball cap I got from a cousin who had been in the Navy. He’d served on an aircraft carrier and the cap had the ship’s number on it. I wore that one out.

For many, many ... many years, my hats and I have been inseparable. There have been several through the years, a good number of which literally wore out from the wear. I had a couple of dress straw hats I wore while in college (one inspired in part by Darren McGavin in “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”). There were a couple of fedoras I wore then, too, inspired by too many old newspaper clichés and Humphrey Bogart movies. (I completed my Bogie ensemble in my first job when I bought a trench coat.) My fedoras went through a lot, and even then served as a sort of trademark.

Some folks have accused me of trying to copy Indiana Jones with my hats. Way off base because, as you can see, I was wearing hats when George Lucas and Steven Speilberg still were shooting movies in Super 8, long before Indy came along. And besides, they were copying Charlton Heston in “Secret of the Incas.”

My current chapeau (see accompanying photo) has held up well, although it’s showing its age. Not too long ago, one person described it as looking like a biohazard. Possibly, since I’ve had since the late ’90s. But, it is comfortable, well broken in and still works for me, even with the small hole in the crown. It’s made by Orvis and I found it in Mountain Home at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop. It was a Christmas present of sorts, purchased with Christmas cash from my folks before there were gift cards. I guess that’s one reason I’ve worn it so long; I tend to be sentimental that way.

Why hats? Why not? In the winter a hat keeps my head warm, in the summer it keeps off the sun, which, considering the hairless nature of the top of my head, is quite important to me. People used to tell me if I kept wearing hats I’d go bald, but I figured if I was wearing a hat nobody would know. A good hat, or cap, can shade your eyes from the sun, help protect against rain and snow, keep sweat from running down your forehead into your eyes — all while making you look sharp.

I have a few hats and caps ... OK, several hats and caps, ... all right, I could open a haberdasher’s shop, although I can wear only one at a time, and I prefer some more than others. Besides my Orvis chapeau, I have a straw western hat in the Gus style (so called after Robert Duvall’s hat in “Lonesome Dove”). It’s really good for keeping the sun off my face and out of my eyes. OK, I’m a little short and wide for some cowboy hats, but I like it. I have a couple flat hats, or cab driver hats, that were passed down to me. And I’ve got the regular caps that get switched out regularly. The current favorite among them is my camouflage cap with a red Razorback on it.

I’m not really sure where my fascination with hats began, although, as I said, I’ve had it most of my life. During the time when hats weren’t necessarily fashionable (although they’ve always been infinitely practical) they let me do my own thing, so to speak. Now, people don’t recognize me without a hat (partly because the glare from the top of my head blinds them).

So, you may wonder, what does this have to do with the price of digital electronics in China? Nothing, actually, it’s just an idea that sprang into my head as I wondered what in the world I could write about this week. That happens sometimes when I go to the well of ideas; sometimes the bucket’s brimming, other times it’s just damp and I find myself a bit short of ideas. But, please, keep that under your hat.