My face is red, and I am not at all embarrassed
My face is red because I have a slight sunburn. I was at a picnic on Friday and once again I wasn�t wearing my hat. I started out with a baseball hat, but it kept slipping off my fat head.
Baseball hats (�one size fits all�) do not fit my head.
My head is oddly shaped and far too large for most baseball hats.
(Am I related to Homo habilis?) Having a large head is not a drawback in most situations, though I often wish that large head size correlated to other appendages.
I was born at the wrong time for hats anyway. I am far too young to wear a hat and look as cool as the chapeau-wearing men did during the golden age of hats and far too old to wear a baseball hat and look anything but pathetic.
Besides, a baseball hat offers little protection from the sun. I invariably end up with the tops of my ears sunburned and a neck that looks like it just came off an elderly desert tortoise.
Why am I worrying about hats right now?
I am starting to pack for my next trip. Packing is probably too strong of a word, I am obsessing about packing, which is, for me, probably the most satisfying part of any trip. I haven�t actually packed anything yet and I have a little more than two weeks to fret before my plane leaves for Bangkok.
I can’t be seen on Khao San Road wearing aTilley Hat even if they are the hat equivalent of sensible shoes, I just can�t do that yet.
Maybe when I get a Reliant, an anorak and become a twitcher, but not just yet. I still have a bit of youthful pride.
Instead, I have decided to pack my Sahara Sombrero from one of my favorite companies, Outdoor Research. Sure, it will look goofy, but I won�t have sunburned ears.
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.