MY Stetson Got Stolen!

[riccardo]

Wonderful,
I'm now, with a leg in Italy, another one in USA and a wonderful great radio in my ears!
Thanks.
Regards.

I remember when I was in fourth grade someone in the class either stole something or did something very nasty when the teacher left the room for a moment. I totally forget what it was the guilty person did - but I very vividly remember the teacher's reaction to it which I thought was profoundly unjust at the time and still do to this day.

The teacher basically came back into the room and gave the class 5 minutes for the person who did it to come forward and confess or else she would just have to pick someone out of the class to punish in their place. True enough, when nobody came forward, the teacher announced that one of the girls in the class, a girl who was very small for her age, sweet tempered, always smiling and about the last person in the world capable of doing anything nasty was going to be punished. The poor girl was horrified and began crying and pleading that she did not do it. The teacher was relentless. She announced in great detail that the girl would be taken to the principle's office and spanked - and the only way to stop it would be if someone else stepped forward and confessed.

I have no memory of how it all was resolved or whether or not the person who did it was ever identified. All I remember was the little girl crying and begging the person to come forward.

Today, I think about it and get kind of mad. Back then I was just glad that I was not the person who the teacher picked. (I am sure she never even thought about picking me because most of the trouble makers in the class would have been more than happy to see me get in trouble for their bad behavior - which is why she picked a person that everyone in the class liked.) I was also a bit afraid that, even though I did not do it, I might have a guilty look on my face and she might blame me - and the more I thought about it, the more I seemed to feel my face turning red.

If I saw something like that happening today, I would be the very first person to speak out about it as loudly as I could to anyone who might listen and be on the phone calling the media or something. But at that age - well, I just didn't do things like that. Oddly enough, it didn't sour my opinion of the teacher for the rest of the school year. I know what her strategy was and where she was coming from - but the fact of the matter is she was profoundly unjust and wrong. The ends do not justify the means.

 

[Sefton]

Sefton, I lived in a decent part of Pasadena Ca. when I was burglerized and my hat-car was stolen. In San Francisco when I was mugged at gunpoint. I did bounty hunting for 20 years and that is where the "bad guys" beat me a couple of times. After reading my post it does sound like I must live in hell. I now live a quiet, crime free life since I have learned to stay out of harms way and moved to "gentler" communities.

O.K. now that explains it. Glad to hear that you don't live in hell
Best regards, Sefton

 

[Raffles]

Don't trust anyone you don't know and don't let anyone you know find out you don't trust them.

 

[Mycroft]

That is a shame, on Yom Kipper too, ug, go thing the synagouge has spare kippas , right?

 

[Wild Root]

You know, to me it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s inexcusable to steal a man?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s hat! It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s such a personal item I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m surprised that any one would still a hat. I wore hats ever since a kid and I was one of the only ones who did. Friends always found ways of taking it off my head and playing keep away with it. Mind you it was just a ball cap but, it was MY BALL CAP! I felt so violated when something was just ripped off my head. Makes me mad just thinking of it. So, it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s a sore subject when I hear of people stealing hats!

I have had some people just take a fedora off of my head wile wearing it. They just wanted to see it but, I didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t hesitate to snatch it back and scowl. I tell them if they had any manners, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d only be too happy to show them the hat.

Why do so many people lack manners is beyond me!

WR.

 

[Dismuke]

I have had some people just take a fedora off of my head wile wearing it. They just wanted to see it but, I didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t hesitate to snatch it back and scowl. I tell them if they had any manners, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d only be too happy to show them the hat.

It would serve a person like that right if, one time when he did that, he looked into the hat and discovered a toupe that also came off the head with the hat!

 

[jeboat]

Missing hat

Are you in NYC? One of our sons has a friend who teaches elementary school in Brooklyn and the stories he tells are just unreal.

One of the little darlings kicked him in the crotch and the teachers' union told him he was entitled to take off 6 weeks sick leave. He did!! Best 6 weeks of his life.

jeboat :cool2: :cool2: :cool2:

 

[Badluck Brody]

Got into a knock-down drag-out a few years back...

Well in the middle of this, I notice my wife (girlfriend at the time) suddenly dart outta the way....? Now I know I sent her to the car just moments before this thing kicked off (After all, one less person to worry about, right?).

So afterwards I ask my wife, "What were you thinking, why didn't you stay outta the way???!!"

Handing me my lid, she replied, "Well... what ever happened, I didn't want them to take your hat..."

Gotta luv her.

Brody

 

[nightandthecity]

I wore hats ever since a kid and I was one of the only ones who did. Friends always found ways of taking it off my head and playing keep away with it. Mind you it was just a ball cap but, it was MY BALL CAP! I felt so violated when something was just ripped off my head. Makes me mad just thinking of it. I have had some people just take a fedora off of my head wile wearing it. They just wanted to see it but, I didn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t hesitate to snatch it back and scowl.

WR.

It's a funny thing this Root. Why do people feel entitled to grab your hat off your head just "for fun"? They wouldn't try and take your jacket or your shoes off, they don't pull gloves off your hand. What is it about hats? Within the last few months I have had a total stranger pull my beret off on a train and then go all upset when I threatened to re-arrange his face, and I have had a guy reach out and grab my fedora when I was playing on a low stage, put it on his own bonce, and then go all sulky when I stopped playing, came down and grabbed it back. Why do they do it?

 

[Johnnysan]

Sorry to hear pf your loss, MJL. I know that there are plenty of folks out there who would give you the "...it's just a hat" reply, but they just don't get it and likely never will. Hope that it turns up soon.

Not to take the thread too far afield, but the last couple of posts reminded me of a favorite story of mine about my parents. My mother and father met in Italy at the tail end of WWII when my father was in service. Two more unlikely people to marry you'd never find...my dad grew up on a depression era farm in Terre Haute, Indiana and my mom was born into a titled family at a time when Italy still had a King.

While strolling along the streets of Verona one night following their wedding, my parents were accosted by a number of Italian street toughs who thought poorly of American GIs and their Italian wives/girlfriends. Despite his lanky frame, my dad was no slouch with his fists and waded into the center of these fellas and, according to all accounts, was doing pretty well despite the five-to-one odds.

Suddenly out of nowhere, my mother (all 4'11" of her) charges into the fray wildly swinging her purse. The purse, which was roughly the size of a suitcase, was a purchase that she had just made with some of their wedding money. Needless to say, the odds on the fight took a bit of a turn to towards my folks.

About that same time, a number of British servicemen were coming out of a local nightspot and inquired as to the source of the row. Gallant, chivalrous lads all, they cheerfully relieved my father of his duties and finished the business on more even footing. My father has since held a special fondness for his British brothers-in-arms. Anyway, sixty years later, my folks are still married and my mom still has that purse!

 

[hatflick1]

Purloined Pinch Front

A couple of suggestions. Put out an APB to the Lounge so we can variously monitor ebay to see if it pops up. Go to second hand or vintage shops, any place which could feasibly buy the hat for a couple of bucks to resell. Keep an eye out at Halloween. Fedoras move locally at this time billed as Freddie Krueger hats. Post a reward at school...No Questions Asked. Or, post a Warning: Hat May Spread Incurable Scalp Disease. Return To Owner and Consult a Physician ASAP!
I'm sorry you had the hat pinched. Maybe the above could help recover it.
________________________________________________________________
Seeking emnlightenment... one hat at a time.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

In Texas...

Folks know not to touch a man's hat when it's on his head.

The people that want to take my hat off are, of all people, children. It never ceases to amaze me that parents don't teach their kids not to touch someones hat, especially when it's being worn.

I teach a childrens Sunday School program. I have to leave my hat in the Pastor's office or some child will end up wearing it and pulling it down around his ears by the brim. I've had kids grab it off my head while talking to their parents outside. When I say something about that behavior being unacceptable, their parents will say something like 'It's just a hat'. I had to set down rules of conduct. Number one being, don't touch the hat.

 

[Wild Root]

Just a hat???

Oh Bob! That sentence is OH TO FAMILURE! Friends of mine have said that famous line: Dude, chill out, it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s JUST A HAT! I reply: NO! It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s not just a hat! It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s from the 1940?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s and they don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t just grow on trees! I can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t stand people who disrespect a person?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s space or personal property. I know, I'll just go over to their car and key it and then say: What's the matter? It's just a car!

Reminds me of the film Great Guy with James Cagney. He's sitting there and a guy asked to barrow two bits. So, he gives the man the money and then the guy throughs it out the window. Says: Now, you don't miss those two bits at all do you? So, Cagney takes the man's Derby off the desk and chucks it out the same window! Says: Now, you don't miss that at all do you? It's just a hat, you can always get another one. Now get out of my office! Classic

WR

 

[Renderking Fisk]

Just to throw in my two copper lincon's... I don't take my hat off and leave it where I can't see it in public.

 

[Wild Root]

You know what the problem is today???

NO HAT CHECKS! In the golden era and all the way into the 60?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s there were Hat Checks. You would go into a nice restaurant, a coat/hat check girl to take your things. A movie theater, a ballroom or any fancy place, they had Hat Checks! That is why we have such a hard time keeping our hats safe and thus sacrificing the proper hat etiquette in the process.

WR.

 

[The Wingnut]

I went to a play at the local college last weekend dressed in my best suit, overcoat and hat. The theatre was built in the 1930s and is a beautiful example of art deco design.

I asked one of the ushers as she was taking my ticket if they had a coat and hat check, and her look further increased to a regard for someone from another planet(considering how I was dressed). She asked another usher in a state of confusion of they had a coat check, and the answer came back negative. "I'm sorry, sir, you'll just have to hold on to them."

So, my overcoat was draped over the chair arm, and my hat went on the seat next to me. I was fortunate that I had nobody sitting next to me.

It's a simple matter of putting a hook on the wall somewhere in most restaurants, most booths have pillars / posts next to booths, and most open seating areas can still spare space for a coat / hat tree. It's a comment on the manner of dress of the common man these days that you can't hang up your hat or coat...people won't take them off indoors, and don't often wear clothing that warrants removal of layers once indoors. again, it's more about immediate comfot and convenience now than style or practicality.

I'm preaching to the choir, of course...

 

[Wild Root]

Well, it cost too much to pay a girl or a guy to sit there and take people's coats and hats. I have been to a few dances that had a room off to the side to check your goods. It cost a buck and the money went to a good cause.
It's nice to have something like that at a dance in winter when I like to use my top coats and hats. Makes things so much easier!!!

When I was in Canada, there were coat racks at all the tables (even doughnut shops!) they had coat rooms and racks to hang up one's winter layers at most establishments and especially churches! There are many things I liked about Canada but the fact that they seemed to hold to old fashioned traditions impressed me.

WR.

 

[Renderking Fisk]

No, I'm with you on the Hat Check girl and the lack their of. And since there's no place to put your hat (Ball Cap or Fedora) then most folks just wear them in side.

Sorry, but it strikes me as being more then odd that goobers have their ball caps on, while looking at folks with fedoras like we're from Mars.

 

[Wild Root]

Today it's funny. I noticed that the world knows of two kinds of hats that are excepted and they are, the ball cap and the cowboy hat. Fedoras are sometimes confused with cowboy hats and that bugs me.

WR.

 

[havershaw]

The restaurant that I took my wife to when I proposed to her is in Pittsburgh, PA, and it's a very old place on top of Mt. Washington called the LeMont. We've been there twice (once a year is about all I can afford!), and they do have a hat and coat check girl, in the same place I suspect she's been in for fifty years or more. Of course, Pittburgh is the kind of place where you're likely to walk around bundled up, so I guess it's more likely to find that sort of thing out there. Most of the restaurants there have hooks for hats and coats. Any place where there's severe weather should at least have hooks, I would think.