2022, Business, Media, Mysteries, News, Uncategorized

The Hat

53 Comments

Melania is selling her white hat. 

Apparently this is big news and you can find it spun in several different directions.  Personally the most interesting thing about this news item is that I don’t remember ever seeing a photo of her wearing it.  I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me; for the past 5-6 years, I’ve really worked hard to stay away from the news.  Too much coverage and drilling down was just making me anxious and miserable, so I quit.  I look at CNN usually just once a day and the StarTribune every few.  I do Facebook but not too much (I’ve actually only posted once) and no other social media platforms.  It’s actually made me feel better.

So back to the hat.  In all the photos I could find, she wore it so far down that you couldn’t see her face most of the time and I’m not sure how she could see either.  But it is a very striking hat.  I wouldn’t want to give up a hat like that although I’m not sure where I would wear it these days.  It would be a little out of place at Target and Trader Joe’s.

Tell me about something of yours that you’d like to auction off.

53 thoughts on “The Hat”

  1. I’m pretty sure no one’s interested in bidding on the stuff I own. I suppose I could get a few bucks for my LP collection since I have some pretty important jazz recordings (at least they were a big deal back in the day to jazz aficionados–like Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” album.

    Otherwise, Salvation Army Thrift Store, here we come. 🙂

    Chris in Owatonna

    PS–BTW- a shout out to tim for coming to my book launch party in Owatonna on Monday. He hasn’t missed any of the three. VS couldn’t make it, although I know she would have if she could. Besides, I got to meet YA last year in Hopkins when VS dragged her down to a street market I was working at. That was a two-fer. 🙂

    You guys rock. Thanks for your support.

    C

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  2. i do auction off my hats
    i have a couple lady’s borsalino wide brim straws that have sold for big bucks as wedding hats
    i also do lots of coats suits shoes and other stuff on ebay
    it’s a great way to cycle through your old stuff and find new
    i buy more hats to sell than i sell but i enjoy it
    hats are like the housing market
    what used to be a hat i could buy for 30 or 40 dollars is 130 or 140 today
    it’s all relative

    chris had a real nice shindig for his launch and i am looking forward to reading the new offering

    i really enjoy his writing

    albums
    i’ll take em when you’re ready to let loose
    i have pjs collection and vs’s also
    it’s fun to put those on and remember where they came from
    my kind of blue is literally worn out
    i could use another
    it’s my favorite album

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  4. It just struck me, maybe because of that expanse of white hat, that melania means dark or black in Greek. Strange thing to name a baby, if you think about it.

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  5. I have a LOT of stuff that I would like to auction off. Some artwork. Some old tech that my last job was throwing out. Some camera gear. I was just discussing with someone last week that I think a lot of why I accumulate stuff is because I’m a ‘gem hunter.’ I love the thrill of the hunt…finding the gem in the sand…the thing that everyone else has overlooked. I walk into an antique store, a used bookstore, a thrift shop, etc. and I have a general agenda. 1) Is there anything in here I could actually use. 2) Are there any interesting things I could surreptitiously arrange and take photos of. 3) Is there anything here that I could buy and flip for some cash. My problem is that I never quite get around to actually listing the items…so, I accumulate. For a lot of it, my only emotional tie is that I found the hidden gem in the sand.

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  6. I still have most of the ancestral bric-a-brac hanging around, lots of china teacups and the like. I might like to unload some of it, but it’s exactly the stuff that no one wants anymore, so I’m not highly motivated to sort it out. Turning the question around, my most recent awesome auction win was a Pusheen jean jacket on Goodwill. Can’t wait for the weather to get warm enough I can wear it!

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    1. A friend of mine was over for tea and monkeybread on Saturday and we talked quite a bit about the china/crystal/silver that a lot of us have but rarely if ever use. My folks were really adamant that I register for all that stuff when I got married back in the 70s. Truly all it ever does is look pretty through the glass front of my china cabinet. YA was part of this conversation and I told her that when I’m gone, if she wants to back up one of those big dumpers to the front door and heave everything out, that’s OK with me. Not much point in holding on to all this stuff if no one really values it any longer.

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      1. i love my dinners on easter thanksgiving christmas and mother’s day
        birthdays and special occasions where it’s fun to eat off good china and use the good silverware
        my mom has a beautiful setting for 12 of china with cream and sugar salt and pepper soup tureen gravy boat etc that my sisters dibsed but the retracted
        i always wanted only books and art from my mom
        now i’m taking the china too and maybe the break front to display it in

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  7. I have some books that are ostensibly valuable—I say ostensibly because the comparable books I see online are the ones that haven’t sold for the asking price—but for the most part I’m not ready to sell them anyway.
    Like thatguyinthehat, I do enjoy treasure hunting for books, most often at estate sales. There are a lot of people hunting books with a smartphone app, but I think the app relies on ISBN numbers and the books I hunt are pre-ISBN and often ignored. In the last year I’ve picked up for a dollar or two books listed online for as much as $350. Of course, as I said above, there have been no takers at that price.

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  9. Stuff I’d like to auction off? Probably not. Stuff I could auction? Probably. I have an early 20th century spinet desk that was my grandmother’s. Her dad (as I recall) co-owned a furniture store and I think it came from there. It has a swell little thingy that swings out to house an ink well along with little cubbies and tiny drawers. Might be the only thing I have that has more than just sentimental value (though it has that, too). I have a 2nd generation original iPod (the one about the size of a pack of cigarettes, just the clicker button – no screen) somewhere… might even still work. That might be worth something. 🤓

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  10. We should all hang onto our keyboards. I’m reading a detective novel right now that takes place in the future and nobody knows how to “type” any longer because everything is voice-activated!

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  12. Right now, in the back of my car, is a Fender brand mixer / amp, from about 1985. Weighs 125 lbs. Five of the 6 channels work. And I’m trying to decide if it’s worth taking to a pawn shop or just go right to recycling with it. Been in my basement for 15 years.
    And I’ve got some misc farm machinery that should go to auction; used machinery prices are real good right now unless it’s complete junk.
    I ordered a new rear blade for the tractor last year; haven’t gotten it yet, but I’ll be taking my current one to auction once I get the new one.
    Watched an online auction finish up yesterday; It’s the last 5 minutes when some of this stuff goes crazy. A 15′ drill was $12,500 and then sold for $16,500 going back and forth between two bidders at the end.
    And a small 16″ safe sold for $95. I have one in the shed I’ve been trying to sell. Guess I’ll take it to the next online auction.

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    1. i’ll buy the fender if your ready to sell it
      i don’t know 85 characteristics but i need a decent amp
      mine is from the 60’s and has issues but a couple killer 16 “ jbl speakers with monster magnets on them that sound wonderful
      also 125 lbs and the size is an oversized suitcase 3x2x1

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  13. The hard drive on our desktop computer died yesterday. It can’t be fixed, and the data from it can’t be extracted unless we send it in to a professional data extractor and pay $1400. I could advise my heirs sell the hard drive, I suppose, in about 200 years, as a historical artifact that holds information about early 21st century life.

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      1. I am happy to report that our computer guy brought the computer back to the house tonight with a new super duper hard drive, set it all up, and charged us $146 for parts and labor.

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  14. Our house is full of stuff that I’d love to auction off. The trouble is, as others have observed here, most of our treasures don’t appeal to the current generation. When I think of all of the people my age and older, and all of the stuff they have collected, exquisite and beautiful stuff, I shudder to think of what will happen to it.

    Will my old trunk, with the date of 1863 painted in gold letters on the front, and which still has the original iron key – worn thin by usage – just become garbage? I bought that trunk in 1961, two years before its 100th anniversary, and I had it shipped to the US with everything I owned packed inside of it. Unlike Melania, I’m not looking to make money on it, I just want to hand it off to someone who will treasure it the way I have.

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      1. Things such as? My guess would be that they brought what they did, whatever it was, because they didn’t have all that much to start out. They probably thought of these things as essential.

        Looking back on what was in that old trunk of mine, none of it was really valuable, but it was all I had.

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        1. I have a copper Swedish hearth kettle that has been in my family as long as I can remember. I assume my grandfather brought it with him when he emigrated in 1916 but I can’t figure out why. He was about 18 at the time and the hearth kettle was an obsolete appliance by then. As Swedish hearth kettles go, there’s nothing remarkable about it and one of the feet is even split a little. The amount of baggage he could bring was surely limited. Why would have he chosen that?

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        2. There was this large chunk of jade carved into a Chinese scholar’s ink stand, some wood carvings of various German characters, a demitasse set with violets on it, a china cup my grandmother received on her baptism,

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    2. I very well may be wrong about this, but the younger generations, like any generation, are not monolithic. There will always be a certain component interested in authentic artifacts.

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      1. And, their attitudes might change as they get older. Until maybe age 40 you’re focused on the future–establishing a job/career, creating a new family of spouse/children or friends, all the things that go into becoming an adult. After that you usually become more interested in heritage and legacy. That’s also about the time nostalgia starts kicking in, not just for the things you had (or wanted!) in childhood, but the things you grew up around which belonged to your parents’ generation. Or at least that’s my experience and that of some of my friends.

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    3. My mother has a woven… well, it’s sort of a blanket, but it’s very heavy and not a size that would go on a bed, so not exactly sure what to call it. But pretty sure it’s wool. It’s woven, not knit – a lovely mix of brown and tan and cream. And my great grandmother brought it here from Norway. Probably not worth much to any but those in our family. Question is, who gets it after it leaves my mom?…

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  15. I would be happy to part with a lot of what I own. I don’t even want very much in return. My brothers and I have been through both my dad’s and my mom’s estates and each ended up with way more than we want or need. I had my grandma’s set of china for years and never used it. It was a really lovely Czechoslovakian set with a floral pattern. I insisted my brother take it for my niece when she has a home of her own. He did take it but I have no idea what he actually did with it. I also gave him grandma’s gorgeous old cherry china cabinet. I gave my other brother my family’s bookcase which contained my grandparents’ and then my dad’s book collections. He is holding it for my nephew.

    It’s taken awhile, but I’ve gradually pared my belongings down to what can fit in a very small condo. I still have a handmade black walnut desk that I would sell for a very low price, much lower than it’s worth. I can’t budge it. It’s all the way upstairs and there’s no way I can move it. Someone will have to admire it very much and move it out of here for me, for which I will be grateful. When I do move from here, the only other family furniture I have is a dresser that was my mom’s. My brother will get it and the bedroom side tables that match. Anybody want an antique clock with the keys? It still works!

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  18. When I was starting out housekeeping, antiques were “hot”, and I found a lot of nice things at garage sales, etc. I have some very unique pieces that I don’t think would sell well today. But someday antiques will be all the rage again – just don’t know when.

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    1. I have no doubt that you’re right, BiR. I’m just wondering whether I’ll live long enough to see it. We have several antique cabinets that belonged to husband’s grandmother, and they were old when she got them. We just need to find the right people to hand them off to. We’ve reached the conclusion that there’s no hope for finding a taker for his mother’s set of Royal Copenhagen dinner dishes. The dishes I really don’t care about, at all, but the those cabinets really are treasures.

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      1. I was just looking online at “scandinavian antiques”. There are a couple of high end dealers, one in Denver and one in Round Top, Texas. The interesting thing is that some of the items they offer are the same. It makes you wonder where the items really are and if they are just agents for some third party. If the pieces you describe fall within their purview, the prices they ask would make the cost of shipping them inconsequential.

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        3. It would be helpful to have them appraised. Appraisers would describe the pieces in language the dealers would appreciate.

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