• Location: Fernley, Nevada
• Mood: calm

Old Hat (and New)

The hat I'm wearing in the userpic is the one I purchased in Australia to keep from getting too badly sunburned on my face and head. I have continued to wear it, not as an affectation, but because it works, and I'm living in a desert and I'm also excessively sun-sensitive. However, the hat has been beat up, run over, stomped on, crushed in overhead baggage compartments, and otherwise shown some hard usage. When the leather band around the base of the hat started to break apart (if you saw me wearing it in London, you might have noticed the packing tape holding it together), I decided it was time to get another one. I ordered the identical size and style from Jacaru Australia; alas, I waited just a little too long, and the hat arrived the day after we left for the UK.


On the left is the much-used hat that's going into a retired state with its replacement on the right. It's somewhat hard to believe that those are the same style/size/color of hat, but that's what four years of constant use (and abuse) can do to a hat like that. This time, I sprayed leather/suede protector on the new hat before starting to use it, in the hope that it will make it last longer and be easier to clean.

Even though it cost quite a bit when you factor in the shipping, I'm glad to replace this hat with the same kind of hat, because I like how it wears. And I think it's better that the hat took that much wear instead of my head.