The Hat that Could Not Be Lost

Let me tell you a wonderful story about the hat that could not be lost.

The protagonist of this story is a lovely hat. The black, squishy, yet washable yarn holds the intricate and simple cables well. It goes with all of my coats and is worn so often there is a ring of foundation around the brim. The extra ribbing covers my ears perfectly and it hugs my head without being to snug or too slouchy. My fellow knitters will understand it to be a Traveling Cable Hat made with black Cascade 220 Superwash yarn. It is four winters old, which is something like 80 in hat years. Aside from the aforementioned ring of foundation, it barely shows its age.

It is a good hat.
It is a hat that knows where it belongs and always find its way home.

About me: I lose a hat a year or just about. They're left in cabs for the most part, though perhaps they fall out of bags, pockets, or the hood of a coat. Not this hat, though. This hat has fallen out of my hood on the subway in a distinct manner so that a fellow New Yorker could see it, and call out to me in time to collect it before the doors closed. It is a special, loyal hat.

Birmingham, Alabama was chilly in January 2019. Expecting weather in the 50s, I almost did not bring this hat with me on my sales call. However, the morning I left New York was cold, so I donned the hat without thinking. I was glad I did. The rental car was chilly at first.

Purse overflowing with not only the usual items, but also my work laptop and folders of presentations, I went to my account's offices to sell some great books. The day grew warm and as I left their offices I tossed the hat on top of my purse and rushed back to the hotel to meet colleagues for dinner. Quickly, I deposited my sales materials into the hotel room and left for dinner. I had wished the hat had come with me as we left the restaurant as it was quite cold that evening. The hat was not in my hotel room when I returned.

Disappointed at losing the hat, I made plans to use a bit of extra time the next day to visit a yarn store in Birmingham and to knit a new favorite hat on the way home. I opened the passenger side door to place my (still overflowing) purse on the seat and was greeted by the hat!
"What's new?" it seemed to say.
Delighted to be reunited, we went to breakfast (and still to the yarn store because, well, now I wanted to knit another hat anyway!).

All day we traveled together. We had tea at Starbucks and meandered to the airport together, waiting for our flight. We walked almost a mile from the gate to the taxi stand at Laguardia together. The cab was warm and after spending so much time together, we needed our space so I left it reconnect with the (still) overflowing purse.

The next morning I went looking for the hat. It was perfect weather for this hat and the coat I was planning on wearing gets along so well with this hat. Yet, I could not find this hat. With disappointment, I put another hat on my head and left for work.

The day was busy, but I thought about where I could find more Cascade 220 and when I'd be able to manage that during the weekend. It was a good hat. It needed to be re-made.

My husband will not have even 1 beer before getting into the driver's seat of a car, so I suggested we take a Lyft to and from dinner. He agreed. Beer and a plan in place to re-make the hat allowed me to relax enough to forget about the hat.

Forget about it I did. Until we arrived home. The Lyft driver stopped the car. I got out and spotted something on the black road.
Could it be?
Yes! It was!

Lying there on the road. Soppy, soggy, and sad, but happy to be found! My hat!
Happy to be brought inside the nice, warm apartment to dry out and rest after prolonged adventures. Waiting to be washed so it can take its rightful place on my head once again.