Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Monday, January 22, 2007
I knew my friend was getting old, but I was in denial. The telltale signs were obvious: Wrinkled skin spotted by age and the elements, a general look of malaise. Oh, I'd tried to keep my friend going. We went out together just the other day, my friend protesting the entire time.
We've been through a lot together, my pal and I. We've flown to both coasts, been hiking in the woods, taken motorcycle rides. We've even met a celebrity or two. My friend even appeared in one of my infrequent PR shots. For some reason I have a vivid memory of the two of us at the precipice of Reichenbach falls. That would have been my first trip out of the country after we'd met. After I had my good cry I dug up the picture my husband had shot of the two of us looking down at rush of water. It seems that I stood alone. It would have been a perfect moment for my friend. That was seventeen years ago.
I suppose I should explain that my pal was a brown bomber jacket.
Yes I am all misty-eyed over a damn coat. But it wasn't just any coat. It was warm. It was comfortable. It had a great vintage look, which is what attracted me to it in the first place.
Oh, I should have given the coat the old heave-ho several years ago, but I just couldn't bear to do it. I'm sure I looked a ratty mess in it. The lining was finally wearing out and the zipper was acting very persnickity. It was the zipper in the end that did it in. Just this morning.
I had to buy a new coat, although I feel like a shameless hussy playing the field before her husband is buried. There is a good reason for this brazen behavior: We are approaching the coldest month of the year. There is no time to properly mourn. Why, even as I scanned the racks looking for a suitable replacement the salesclerks were taking away the outerwear and replacing them with swimsuits.
Naturally, most of the coats left were either not my size or something Duane Dibley might wear. Just because I have large front teeth...
I finally found a coat. It's not a bad coat at all. Perhaps we'll become friends before the winter is out.
Tags: Life