So this holiday season, in lieu of money to spend on gifts, we cashed in on the points we had unknowingly collected by virtue of having our credit union account for . . . a long time . . . I'm actually not sure how long now that I try to be specific. Maybe not quite but close to twenty years. I didn't even know there were points involved. I don't now know when they started awarding points for what on which card(s) associated with our accounts. But anyway, there were points.
And so I got gift cards to buy a new coat. I needed a new coat because my old coat is actually a ski jacket of the type one should wear skiing which is something I've only done once in my whole life and just to give you a clue, Jimmy Carter was actually president at the time. Remember Jimmy Carter? He was the last president we had who was first and foremost a diplomat. Sigh. But the jacket was a gift from my father-in-law who is nothing if not generous and it was a color that brightly brought out my eyes and was incredibly warm even in windy nasty wet freezing weather for as much of my body as a jacket would cover.
But now I had gift cards to buy a new coat from what we used to call a "catalog" company but now I guess is an "online" company known for its outerwear seeing as how the company is actually in the northern reaches of New England where outerwear is quite important to everyday life.
I decided to buy a grown-up long wool overcoat. I've never had one in my life. I've always been a casual dresser and even well into my middle years have worn hiking boots (not that I hike or anything, just that hiking boots are very comfortable and support my flat flat flat eet nicely) or running shoes (not that I run or anything, just that running shoes are very comfortable and support my flat flat flat feet nicely) and my ski jacket and gloves that don't match my scarf and yet I decided that it was time to have a grown-up long wool overcoat. So I did. I accidentally ordered the wrong color--I wanted classic black--but ordered Loden. What's Loden? I don't know. But when it arrived it was a subtle shade of grey green that exactly matches my eyes and so I have kept it.
Last night I jumped at the chance to see a Broadway show that I couldn't afford to pay for and therefore would have missed with a dear old friend of whom I am so fond that she could ask me to see a show that I don't want to see and I would see it anyway just to be with her. She is a Tony voter (an "occupation" of which I am completely jealous) and therefore sees everything. She is also a long time member of the stage actors' union (Equity) and as such, knows a lot of folks in the business. Nearly every time we see a show, she tells me stories about some or other cast member or the conductor. She knows the box office folks and the house manager at every theatre and is always treated like royalty by the theatre staff. I enjoy basking in the glow of her importance.
I put on my new coat and a plain white scarf and a pair of black gloves and a head wrap and shoes that matched my sweater and slacks that matched my shoes and socks and ventured out into the January chill of midtown Manhattan. The wind was its usual island intense and it was certainly below freezing what with the ice patches here and there next to the curbs in the theatre district. Tourists were crying out at every flash of breeze as I made my way to theatre in my typically way-too-early fashion. I waited outside the theatre for thirty minutes toasty warm in my new disguise as a middle-aged woman who pays attention to her appearance. My friend did not recognize me although she was standing about eighteen inches from me looking intently for me. I tugged on her sleeve and she did a classic double-take and we laughed and proceeded to enjoy a charming evening of catching up, critiquing the show, visiting an old friend backstage, gushing over the "ingenue" whose performance was positively riveting but who seemed not to know, and then wine, cheese, french bread and theatre talk at a nearby bistro.
I am put in mind of that little pop tune that has been around for a few years now. Hey, I put my new coat on and suddenly everything's right.
No comments:
Post a Comment