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| Ralph wearing his signature hat, here with Ella in Scotland, October 2014. The Top Gun pin is the large one on his right; the UFO pin is the circular one in the middle. |
Here's a bit of detail about two particular pins:
Top Gun
While visiting Arizona for Ella's high school reunion [10 or 15 years ago?], Ella said to Ralph, "Let's go flying out in the dessert." Of course, Ralph would never pass up an opportunity to fly. However, unbeknownst to Ralph, Ella had previously made arrangements for Ralph with an outfit that offered flying in aerobatic or military planes. (Queue the theme music to the movie "Top Gun".)
The pilot took him up and said, "I understand you fly. What do you want to do?" Ralph asked if he could do an "inverted test and run." The pilot said, "Take it over! You can't brake the airplane." With Ralph at the controls, he turned the plane over and did this upside down maneuver, in addition to other aerobatics for the next hour. "It was so fun!" His Top Gun pin is a souvenir from that day.
[Somewhere there's a video of his experience. Once we find it, we'll be sure to post a link to it here. That video will also likely reveal the type of plane he flew, and the name of the outfit.]
UFO
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| Image Source |
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Questions:
- Anyone know the story behind other pins on his hat?
- There a lifetime guarantee on Tilley hats...and I believe he's on his third hat!
Source:
- From a conversation on 4 December 2020, as well as previous conversations.
