One of my passions is hats. Not just any old cap, though.
And, not those frilly, frou-frou ladies hats that make such a spectacle on
Kentucky Derby Day.
I mean classic hats, the kind of felt or straw hats that
graced heads during the golden days of cinema. My personal favorite is a nice
felt fedora or Trilby like Bogart, Bergman, or Bacall would have worn. Of
course, I’m also partial to a nice straw Panama like Paul Henreid, Edward G.
Robinson, or Gregory Peck sported in their films.
What does that have to do with paths not taken? Sadly, quite
a bit. A few years back, I bought a gorgeous Montecristi Panama hat from Brent Black, and it’s still the pride of my hat collection. It has surpassed the two
Trilbies I own from Lock & Co of London, but I digress.
Anyway, during the process of selecting and ordering my hat,
I chatted a fair bit with Brent Black, hatter extraordinaire. Knowing me, the
conversation probably included me making a comment like, “I envy you your job.
What a great business!” Mr. Black promptly replied with, “Well, why don’t you
consider getting into the business?”
From there, we chatted about hatters in New York that I might apprentice with so I could learn to block hats. We even briefly touched on the possibility that I’d relocate and work with him a bit to really polish my skills. The idea petered out, probably because I lacked confidence in myself at the time. This was shortly after the academic world had gleefully pummeled my work and self-confidence.
