DAVY CROCKETT HIPPY HATS, TIMMY TIME BULLRUSH & DIANNE MARTINOVICH’S RADICAL GIFT

In the 70′s when I was a kid, it was the hippies era. Everyone was creative. They made things with their hands.

One day, when I was 7 years-old, a pretty out there blonde Kiwi called Dianne Martinovich, 22, made me a Davy Crockett hat from a possum road kill, for my birthday.

A free radical, always tough, Dianne surprised me when she’d lined the inside of the hat in purple silk fabric. She was so kind to me.

We didn’t have a TV as a family in those days, so I had no idea who Davy Crockett was. Dianne knew we didn’t have a TV, but she wanted me to stand out from the other kids, who did. For Dianne’s sake, I totally rocked the hat she had made for me.

On the day that Dianne died in a car accident down in Matamata and because the hat had made me a target of jealousy with other kids, in the end, I gave it to my friend Timmy Cotton, as Kiwi mates do. Timmy would sometimes ask if he could wear it, so I shared Dianne’s gift with him. He was adopted. Dianne’s hat made Timmy feel special like he belonged.

Timmy was behind a year at school in our class, so no one messed with him, when he wore Dianne’s hat. It was a good choice to give the hat to Timmy.

When Tim wore the hat, he’d always say “Watch out. ‘Cos it’s Timmy time.” Our group of friends, would all laugh each time Timmy would say it.

Then we’d all play Bullrush but as hard as we tried, all of us combined could never catch Timmy.

Laughing when he ran as if he was born to run, Timmy was too fast in that skinned possum trophy hat. He was mean.

~Posted by Horiwoodblog, Aotearoa New Zealand, Polynesia Asia-Pacific. 25.8.12~