Hats for Cold Heads by Kitty Mervine

I was learning to knit at around the same time I was starting up badalien.org. For years I've volunteered at several expert sites online as a "UFO expert" and have even been on Maxim satellite radio talking about UFOs several times. I found after a bit what works and what doesn't with people that feel they have been abducted by aliens. My point is to get them to consider it could be a medical problem and to seek help without belittling them or telling them they are "crazy". Many people feel a great sense of relief that they really aren't being abducted and respond well to good medical treatment.

Today a variety of people contribute to badalien.org and I try to let both sides have a say, which is controversial, but I feel that in many ways skeptics need to be educated in how an abductee feels. I rather feel my web site is a way of helping others.

(OK that's the badground on badalien which really has nothig to do with hats but whatever!)

Now, I sometimes give talks about UFOs and abductees and since I was just learning to knit I decided it would be fun to knit up a bunch of "alien protection hats"... you wear them when you sleep and you won't be abducted. I learned how to knit a hat and they are always a big hit when I speak (I give them out as prizes for my "UFO knowledge quiz" part of my talk).

I had a lot of left over bits of wool and yarn, so I made some baby sized hats. I donate clothing and even old cars to the Salvation Army in town and they had a little sign asking for knitted hats, mittens and scarves. So I started donating hats to them. (Not alien hat, just nice hats made with leftovers).

I also found the Quakers online were collecting hats for Afghanistan. They really prefer green wool since green is a lucky color in Islamic culture. One day I started a thread on the JREF forum asking for peoples bits of leftover yarn and especially green wool (it's cold in Afghanistan, and only wool hats were accepted). I got huge boxes of yarn! And several people made a point of going out and buying new green wool. It takes a very short amount of time to knit a baby or child hat, so this winter I made a LOT of hats.

I'm still making hats, and savig them up to donate to the Salvation Army this winter. It gives me something to do in the evenings while watching tv. I also still make alien hats for when I'm asked to speak!

I don't feel like a hero or anything. The people who deserve the credit are all those who bought and donated the wool! They had to pack it up and pay postage and some people even BOUGHT wool which is pretty expensive. I just get bored at night! I like to keep my hands busy.

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Kitty - for her hard work and time given to knitting hats for cold heads, and for her selflessness and zeal for life.