I got a text message today basically saying, “Come get your crap.”

OK, it wasn’t quite like that. My parents have been doing a lot of work on their house this year, which has led to a lot of cleaning out of rooms and closets.

Those areas have quite a bit of random items left behind by me and my siblings during our various moves over the years. Fortunately I only had a TV and a winter hat to pick up. Oh and Mom made me dinner, so I can’t complain too much.

I’m actually quite happy to have the hat back. It’s a sweet New York Giants hat I got somewhere around the 7th or 8th grade. I didn’t exactly need one when I lived in Florida, so I guess it was easily overlooked when I was packing up to leave.

Here it is after its long journey (roughly 5 miles) to my current abode:

My most vivid memories of this hat are from my time running track my freshman year of high school. The winter track season was my first–and only–appearance on a school team. Though we competed indoors, the practices were all outside, thus necessitating having a sweet winter hat on hand.

Of course, it was only useful to have that hat when it actually stayed on your own head. As a sprinter, I spent 99 percent of my time running on the track while the distance runners went out into the surrounding neighborhoods for their workouts. There was one day I was finishing stretching as the distance kids were heading out for their run. I was facing the fence with my back to the track when a hand snatched the hat from my head. I barely had enough time to turn around by the time I saw my hat on top of a much shorter person’s head, with a few inches of blond hair sticking out the bottom.

I had a decision to make–expend some effort to get it back, or just risk some potentially cold ears. The hat went for a 5-mile run without me. I don’t remember how my ears fared all exposed to the cold, but I do recall being somewhat bitter when the hat and its thief finally returned. Her name is being withheld for her own protection.

Nobody likes a hat thief.