The Black Rose Forever

Track your order    Boston Scally Company Sold and shipped by Boston Scally CompanyThe Black Rose Peaky Boston Scally Cap – Black & Grey Plaid X-Large [60cm] $52.00 Qty: 1

Now, if you’ve read enough of these blogs, or FJM, you may know that the real name of Spaghetti’s wife, Posie, was Rose.

Posie was a huge part of my childhood.

My oldest granddaughter, who has Fae written all over her, is Scarlett Rose.

Falling in the direct line between those two Roses, means something to me on so many levels. We are a matriarchal Clan. The women have power.

So it was no surprise why the name of the Texas publisher “Black Rose Writing” caused a visceral response to my psyche, when I was first searching for a place to submit TWA.

Now, five novels later, the term Black Rose has become a talisman for me.

Indeed, I am tempted to get a Black Rose Tattoo.

So, when I recently spotted a Black Rose Scally Cap advertised for sale, I had to have one.

The Irish men are known for wearing what we used to call “Lids,” a tweed flat cap that can be positioned jauntily on one’s head to reflect a number of emotions.

I tend to favor baseball caps myself during nice weather, to keep the sun off my bald head, and of course those heavy wool winter caps to keep my head and ears from freezing during the very cold NoCo winters.

I never went for the flat cap. I was afraid it would never sit properly on my head, and thus blow off during the regular windstorms we suffer here.

But when my eyes landed on a photo of the Black Rose Peaky Boston Scally Cap, I knew I had to give it a try. It can be a bridge hat that I can wear during those fall and spring cooler days, assuming it would fit my dome.

Now I am known for my large head (go ahead, snicker away).

There was an eternally stoned Rastafarian friend back in the day, who swore to me he was really Etan Patz, who one early morning saw me in the distance and burst out laughing, then shared in loud shouts that echoed through my pre-dawn Bronx neighborhood, that my large head rivaled that of the Charles Shultz character, Charlie Brown.

My response is that you cannot cram all of the imagination I have in a pin head. Plus, I inflict a formidable headbutt.

But I did worry that the Boston Scally Cap Company – given its hometown – may have been pulling a Lucy, and holding that football out there for me, just to see me fall on my ass.

After all, I would have been shattered to find that the cap sat on my head like a small plaid growth.

But they offered some comfort, by listing their cap size measurements.

Of course that meant I had to measure mine. That, I have never done.

You see, there are certain parts that should never be measured if us males are to sustain our own dignity.

Leave us to our happy imaginations.

But there was no avoiding it if I wanted this prized Black Rose.

So I measured my head (cue snickers).

The metal Dewalt carpenter’s tape was unusually cold and very hard to maneuver to get a proper size in inches. That then had to be converted to centimeters (and why is that exactly – given its an America company?)

But after a few attempts, I got the magic number and placed my order.

Yes, I am an extra large.

So when a box arrived on my front porch yesterday afternoon, I quickly tore it open and tried on my Black Rose Peaky Scally Cap.

Voila! It fits!

I’m so glad I got my face adjusted by my wonderful friend and Barber, Anna, yesterday morning. Still, lipstick on a pig.

I’m hoping I can do for the Black Rose Peaky Scally Cap what Hemingway did for the iconic Oysterman hat.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/07/quaker-marine-ernest-hemingway-hat

Now, I just need some talent, a Pulitzer and a Nobel.

Well, dawn is peeking over the eastern horizon.

Time to cuddle a kitty and make my rounds.

I think I’ll wear my new cap.

It’s Sunday for the rest of you fine, five readers.

Rest up. Pay whatever religious dues you need to, then enjoy some football. Hopefully, you end your day with a nice meal with family and friends.

But whatever we do, let’s make today a great one.