Feb 16 2007
My Father’s New Hat
Since I was travelling North to celebrate my father’s birthday, I wanted to give him a gift that he’d find both practical and a bit luxurious. I pressed him for suggestions and he confessed that he needed a new “crook’s” cap. I did a bit of research and discovered that the British Ivy Cap was what he wanted but, when I began to explore the marketplace, I didn’t find anything that knocked me out. Long Beach, my home town, is fortunate to have a fairly good hat shop, and they stocked something similar to the Ivy caps my father favored, but from Italy. The brand was Borsalino, one I’d never heard of, but the hat I found was really nice so I got it.
When I gave it to him, he was thrilled. He explained that, as a kid in Brooklyn, all the Italian ‘made’ men wore Borsalino hats.
At his birthday party, he enjoyed a moment with his grandson, Max Hardgrave.
