On Top of it All!

Bill started working at Fred's News two or three years before Emil asked us to buy the place. As usual my husband wanted to make an impression immediately. He already knew many of the regulars, he was one of them. He didn't want to blend in with the chaos and routine of being a short order breakfast cook. He wanted to make a statement so it was decided his hat fetish would do the trick. The first morning he showed up with a chef's hat. Not the usual chef's hat, more like the Muppets Swedish Chef hat. Complete with swedish accent, I'd say he made a statement! The crowd loved it, he was a perfectionist when it came to cooking and presentation. His motto, "serve everyone the way you want to be served." That hat gave him confidence and his kitchen became his stage. By nature he is basically a quiet person, although everyone would disagree. He doesn't like crowds or large gatherings, but the fact that he cooked out in front where everyone saw him, he could perform. In the days before the internet, jokes took much longer to "make the rounds!" People would give him a subject matter and he'd come back with a joke. Interesting combo, slinging hash and shouting jokes. However, it worked and so did the hats. Chef's hats, baseball caps, winter caps, a Sinatra-type hat coupled with the mafia attitude, and a bear head hat were all in his repertoire. Perhaps the best known and most beloved hat in his collection is one that will be talked about for years. Not that it wasn't unique, it was. Possibly the way it looked or the number of different ways he wore it, made the thing a conversation piece. Simply put it was a hotdog hat, complete with bun and condiments. Mustard to be exact. We can thank the Vermont Country Store for that work of art. If I am not mistaken it was made in the USA, now ain't that a pisser!!! Along with his Mr. Potato Head shirt, Bill too was a work of art. But the patrons loved it. Whenever we'd take a short trip or vacation I am sure they all bet the farm on whether or not Bill would bring home another hat. The bear hat got laughs from the adults but kids had a tendency to be afraid of it. On the other hand they all wanted to wear the hot dog hat. Approximately two feet long, it presented a few navigation problems when cooking. One, if you wore it sort of horizontally and turned to fast, you'd knocked out anyone standing inside the two foot safety zone. If the mood called for a more fashionable look he would wear it front to back, which required careful movement around the grill area. There was also the possibility of getting it stuck under the hood above the grill. Mostly it was worn by the young patrons that frequented the place with their parents. Many a child's picture was taken sitting on the old carousel horse in the corner, hat sitting horizontally, they looked so proud. Could of been one of Napoleon's decendents!