Sunday, August 3, 2008

Fading of the lucky hat


Ever have something so comfortable that you felt a bit lost without it? My hat is that way and there have been many a fishing trip that went completely awry without it. As I look at the ragged edges and the fading fabric it exposes two fatal flaws in my fishing. One being that I am far too superstitious and the other is the fact that I am unable to reproduce this hat.

The story of this hat is quite adventurous as there were actually two of these ADC hats that fell into my possession over time. (ADC is a maker of fiber optic products and a supplier of ours) Both have been on some amazing adventures and appear in my photo gallery with no difference at all. I have later models but the make, the fabric and everything else is so different that all the magic is lost. The original models for some reason have everything a good hat has: protection, comfort and doesn’t make a person look like a complete dork.

It didn’t sink in how important this “lucky hat” was until I lost the first one. After several failed attempts at replacing that hat a second one fell into my hands. I had fallen into a bit of a slump at the time and fishing had gotten poor to downright miserable. When the second hat came along the spark was rejuvenated and fishing became spectacular once again. Funny how something like a simple hat could change things.

Now the hat is literally falling apart in places and the dye is way beyond faded. The brim shows a few abrasions and the fabric is torn a bit. Even with the best care this hat’s time is limited. As much as it pains me to admit…the old “dog” won’t live forever. I treat it a little bit better and its still ready to go whenever I need it. One day it will go on the wall of other great fishing items that earned their way to my trophy case of sorts. Even lucky hats don’t last forever.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.