What is a non sequitur?
We are so glad you asked!
Scroll down until you see the image of a head covering.
Why yes, it’s a hat. Not just any hat, it’s the iconic, broad-brimmed “flat hat” worn by National Park Service Rangers since 1920 when it became an official part of uniform regulations.
The most iconic part of the hat is probably the dome that is pinched into four quadrants known as the Montana Peak or the Montana Pinch. The hats were inspired by the dimpled hats worn by Buffalo Soldiers protecting Yosemite National Park, men who were some of the first national park rangers ever. Their style of hat also became known as a campaign hat, though later, some referred to it as a “Stetson” after the manufacturer, the John B. Stetson Company which officially started selling hats to NPS around 1934. Until 1959, NPS employees were instructed to manually put the four small dents in their own hat’s crown, but after that, the dimples were inserted during the manufacturing process.
Rangers do wear a wide variety of other styles of hats to accommodate climate and conditions, nor is the NPS the only entity to wear this style of hat. The official uniforms of several US state police services and federal agencies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the New Zealand Army all include the campaign hat.
What sets a National Park Service Ranger’s hat apart is the leather hatband, a Manzanita-toned ribbon in which are etched are the words USNPS (United States National Park Service) surrounded by whimsical swirls and sequoia tree cones. Bookending the band are two metallic sequoia cones with a spiraling leather fastener in between to secure the hat.
In Mark Galer’s photo below of a couple of Italian Greyhounds horsing around on St Kilda beach in Australia, we see a good example of “curvy” dogs: Short-coupled, high at the withers, back curved, with the highest point of the curve at the start of loin and creating a definite tuck-up at flanks.
See what we did just now?
We started out talking about a hat, and moved right into an utterly unrelated topic, the Italian Greyhound. This is a non-sequitor. A statement that doesn’t logically follow what preceded it, an abrupt and inexplicable transition.
We do, however, circle back to the IG by asking you to check out the depth of chest on these two dogs. The Iggie is, by standard, a breed that is similar to the Greyhound, and as such, should have a deep and narrow chest (the Greyhound standard calls for a chest that is “deep, and as wide as consistent with speed, fairly well-sprung ribs). The Greyhound standard mentions an important word, however, that is missing in the IG standard, and one we feel is key to understanding both breeds; the word is “speed.”
The IG is a running dog that needs as much lung capacity as possible, and thus the rib cage area is elongated where the loin is short. An Italian Greyhound with a long loin and short rib cage not only looks out of proportion and lacking in type, but very well may lack endurance and an ability to cover ground effortlessly. Iggies tend to be sprinters, but a lightweight frame and an immense lung capacity allows for distance.
So what have we learned? That campaign hats and Italian Greyhounds have absolutely nothing in common, and that non sequiturs can be fun!
Image: Italian Greyhound in Sun Valley Idaho with Bald Mountain in the background by Photo by Brian Gerry on Unsplash