THE MAGICAL RED VELVET JACKET

Have I mentioned in this blog that at times I feel I live a charmed life?  Sometimes. Not all the time. Things just happen to me. Good things. They occur with frequency. I attribute it to my Mom, who has the ear of God, and  is as devout a Catholic as ever lived, probably is a saint (three miracle rule) and prays fervently for her family.

I had this red velvet jacket way back in the 1970's that I loved and lived in. I must have worn that thing from 1972 till it fell apart in 1977. Amazing how you remember dates, isn't it. The above picture is 1975. I can not recall the name of anyone in that photo but the party was at Piff's house and those were some top notch Murray parties.

The jacket was in every way my signature piece of clothing. When the elbows became ragged, my Mom lovingly applied patches for me. The lining, which was ripped up, trashed and a disgrace suffered an unrecoverable blow during the Christmas holidays. Mom thought she would replace the lining as a surprise. A surprise alright! The jacket was not the same. It did not hang right, it bunched up under my arms, the  worn marks and holes were covered up. In other words, it was ruined. I could not bring myself to wear it ever again. It remained in the back of a closet in my Mothers home for many years. I looked for it last year after mentioning it in a journal entry. It was gone. Thrown away long ago. Lost forever.

I love Goodwill, Salvation Army, Thrift stores. I find such great stuff for a fraction of the price they are worth. I look there first when I need something, see if someone else's trash can become my treasure.

I was stunned. I could not believe it. My hands were methodically moving the jackets to the left as I plowed through the long row when I happened upon a red velvet jacket. I let my hand caress the red velvet on the sleeve before I had the nerve to pull it out

There, waiting for me, was my old friend!

It seems impossible, but it is the exact jacket. I wore it for five years, I'd recognize it anywhere.This jacket has no label, nothing to indicate anything about it. Not a worn mark on it anywhere. Does not smell old, forgotten nor abandoned. It was just waiting for me to reclaim.

I'm not sure what it means,if it means anything at all. It just has made me so incredibly happy on this wet, rainy, lonely day.