Hat Crime

Poco Loco esta perdido…

Please forgive me if my grammar is off, but I’m in mourning. I lost my Poco Loco Club hat this week and I can’t stop thinking about it.

I had gotten this blue cap sometime in the early 90s, possibly on a trip to Mexico when I covered then-Connecticut Governor John Rowland’s trip south of the border.

The cap sported the cartoony image of a toucan in red-polka dot shorts with the name that means “A Little Crazy.” And I was more than a little crazy when I discovered it was gone.

Yes, the cap was losing its color and shape and I was seriously thinking about tossing the thing away. But I wanted that to be a conscious choice and not as a result of negligence.

My auntie has relocated to her summer place in the Berkshires for the next few months and I had gone to her apartment to clean out the refrigerator and do a few other chores.

I had been there earlier in the week and had forgotten the Poco Loco hat.

Once I was done, I gathered up my backpack, stuffed the cap inside it, and bounced up to the express bus stop at West 30th Street.

I was strolling up to Fifth Avenue when I saw the light was about to change and I launched into my rat-psycho mode and took off running.

You have to understand that showing a changing traffic light to a New Yorker is like throwing down the gauntlet.

Loco Motion

Other people will wait until the light changes in their favor, but a New Yorker will shriek “get the hell outta my way!” and take off as if Satan has just climbed out of the nearest sewer.

I charged across the avenue and raced to the bus stop to wait for a bus that was nowhere in sight. But at least I showed that street light who was boss.

And apparently somewhere in that mad dash I managed to drop the Poco Loco sombrero. Naturally I didn’t discover the loss until I was on the bus and heading back to Brooklyn.

The toucan had flown the coop and I was feeling muy estúpido. One of the oldest warnings in history says to “hold on to your hat!” How did I fuck that up?

Yes, this is only a battered cap that should’ve been nuked a long time. But I was so annoyed at my carelessness, that I had actually ran across the street with my backpack half-opened and expected everything to be perfectly in place when I finally stopped.


I’m always running someplace, damn it, and I don’t think I have a hell of a lot to show for it.

I googled “Poco Loco” and found someone was selling an atrocious canary yellow version of the cap on eBay.

Someone else was peddling a “vintage” long-sleeved shirt with the logo emblazoned across the front.

I’ve resolved to be more careful with my backpack and try—really try—to be a little less loco when I see a yellow caution light.

I hope some needy person found that little toucan and is giving him a nice home on top of his or her head.

And I really hope they give that bird a new pair of pants. Those polka-dot things have gotta go…

Comments

Bijoux said…
It's hard to lose something like that, which is not easily replaceable. Time for a trip and a new hat!
Rob K said…
Thanks, Bijoux! I am taking a trip overseas next month, so it's definitely time for a new chapeau!
Ron said…
"Other people will wait until the light changes in their favor, but a New Yorker will shriek “get the hell outta my way!” and take off as if Satan has just climbed out of the nearest sewer."

HAHAHAHAHA! OMG Rob, that is so true! And me, being very much like a New Yorker, I will say and do what you just shared above. I have NO patience.

And I know how you felt when you discovered your cap was gone because I've done similar things myself. I've had things fall out of my manbag/backpack whilst dashing around the city, only to find them missing when I got home. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!?!##!

"I hope some needy person found that little toucan and is giving him a nice home on top of his or her head."

You're right, and that's a great way to look at it.

Have a super week, buddy!

Rob K said…
Hey, Ron, I knew you'd get a kick out of this! You're a New Yorker at heart!

But let's try and be more careful when it comes to holding on to our stuff. And maybe try being a little more patient...?

Have a great week, buddy!
I had never thought about light changes and nationalities (or city identities) :-). I don't think people in London dash across the road when the light is about to change. Must try to notice next time. :-)

Greetings from London.
Rob K said…
No, brother, I think New Yorkers corner the market on this issue. My uncle and aunt in Los Angeles are always chiding me for jay-walking whenever I visit them. Just feels normal to me!

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