HAWK'S HAT

“The Hat,” the one I wear in the photo on my website, has achieved a notoriety of its own. Throughout my national and international internet book tours, one question has been asked repeatedly:  “What’s with the hat?”

I have traveled throughout the world, in connection with the military, as a professor teaching in foreign countries, and simply for pleasure. Along the way I have acquired many interesting pins, all of which have a place of honor on The Hat.

Some of the more interesting:

• Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen - From cruises aboard the paddle wheel riverboats on the Mississippi, Ohio and Kanawha Rivers 

• U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy SEALs - Marks the many selfless & often unheralded services/rescues of some of the finest volunteers who protect our way of life

• PINK breast cancer ribbon pin - A ‘thank U’ ribbon pin given for a book signing with proceeds donated to breast cancer research

• Second Confederate Navy Ensign - Historical flags of Confederate naval vessels

• 911 FDNY and NYPD - Commemorative badges from Am Track and other kiosks in Chicago, Washington DC, St. Louis

• Railroading Via Rail Canadian – Toronto to Vancouver; Am Track and private trains- Washington DC, Chicago, LA, Seattle, New Orleans, St. Louis; The transcontinental sleepers…California Zephyr, Dixie Limited

• Rocky Mountain champagne powder skiing - From the champagne powder ski areas of Colorado, Montana & Wyoming…ski towns of Steamboat Springs & Dillon Valley, CO; Buttermilk run in Aspen…Big Sky, Montana; Jackson Hole, WY