Hat Terrific, but Please: No 'Ripe Oyster' Smell

We get the greatest notes and letters. So we give you, in full, this one from eastern North Carolina resident Tracy Sanderson, about her husband, Kevin, the guy in the photo below:

"Dear Real Deal Brazil,

Today, my husband came home from work telling me about a hat that he had found ... in the river.  I thought this was a little strange, seeing that my husband works for the North Carolina Department of Transportation ... and normally works on roads ... not on rivers. My water loving husband proceeded to tell me his hat tale. He had parked the machine he was running and was taking his lunch break. He decided to walk along the rivershore to 'see what he could see.' It was at Adams Creek, which also serves as part of the Intercoastal Waterway (in North Carolina). This body of water is part of my husband's favorite shrimping waters. The tide was out and he was looking along the rivershore when he spotted what looked like a hat. He was concerned that there might be a body along the rivershore that went with the hat. But back in the summer, he and his buddy were out shrimping, and Shaun lost his hat that he had gotten in Australia. Kevin thought it would be cool if he had found it."

A hint from us: It wasn't the one from Australia! So guess what it was! Oh, guess what it was!

Sorry. We already know the ending, and we're pretty easily excited.

Please continue, Tracy:

"Kevin is kind of like the seagull from the Little Mermaid ... he will pick up just about anything. Over the years, he has brought home snakes, wallets, boat cushions ... you name it. All of which he has found on the side of the road. Just last week he found a camera bag with marijuina scales, which was turned over to the authorities. Today, it was a hat covered with mud and river algae. After bringing it home and power-washing it, he discovered the label on the inside that proclaimed it to be a Real Deal Brazil canvas hat. We looked up your website (www.RealDealBrazil.com) and decided to tell you his adventure for the day. We are including a picture, which we wish had scratch and sniff ... so you would be able to smell the 'ripe oyster' smell that is embedded in the hat." (Emphasis is ours; we just think that's funny!) "Kev says the he sure wouldn't mind if you send him a new one ('xl' he says) ... preferably a non-smelly one. But for now, it will serve as an ornament on the wall of Kev's garage man cave."

Oh, and yeah: Kev's absolutely getting a new original Real Deal Brazil recycled-tarp hat from us -- minus, of course, that dreaded ripe-oyster smell. His wife's story is payment enough!