Everyone around here wears a cowboy hat. And I mean EVERYONE.
Have you ever seen the movie "City Slickers"? Billy Crystal's character decides (while shopping with buddies for "cowboy attire" before they start working on the guest ranch and driving cattle), that he is going to be true to himself and wear a baseball cap instead of the traditional cowboy hat.
For the movie trailer, click HERE. (but give it a couple minutes to download.)
By the way: There is one of those "Guest Ranches" not far up the highway from where we live. Sometimes when we drive in the wee hours of the morning, cattle will be standing on the road. I weave my way through their herd while honking my horn.
When I moved down here, I decided that the location of my home will not define me. For example: Just because I live on a farm does NOT mean that I am going to start wearing bib-overalls. I am not going to start changing my likes and interests just because of where I live....I am my own "me".
My husband agreed.
Which is why he initially always wore a baseball cap around the ranch. However, we learned a lesson quickly about hats. Although they are a trendy accessory in other parts of the country, down here people wear them for a reason, and it isn't in the name of "fashion".
Ben wore his cap for a week. After that time he was convinced to try a cowboy had by the horrible sunburn on his neck and the top of his ears. From the first day, he was instantly in love with his cowboy hat. There are two main reasons (that WE have discovered) which supports the idea that wearing a cowboy hat makes living on a Farm or Ranch more comfortable.
Protection: The design of a cowboy hat is meant to shade your face, neck, and tops of the ears from the sun, yet is curved up on the sides for shoulder clearance.
Comfort: The hat height has a function too. As your head sweats, the vents in the top of the hat breathe, creating a sort of "cooling system" for the top of your head (which therefore affects your body's overall temperature). This is also the reason why you see cowboys wearing bandanas around their necks (see picture above). Yes, it is true that you can use it to cover your face from wind and dust, but you can ALSO get the bandana wet with water. As it sits on the back of your neck it (once again) creates a cooling effect.
That's it.....
From now on, I'm wearing my cowboy hat to the beach!
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