In high school, I played Adelaide to Bob’s Nathan Detroit. We were an item, 17 year old star-crossed lover-Seniors starring in “Guys and Dolls,” with the Flapper in the front row, when I sang and danced to the cutesy strip tease, “Take Back Your Mink.” Little did I know how my Mother would react to that musical comedy; mink coats had always been something of a conundrum in her life.
I remember when my step-father, Mr B, gave her a fur coat for Christmas one year. He had one of those early Zapruder movie cameras and filmed her reaction for all eternity. She twirled. She smiled radiantly. I looked on like any pre-teen, enthralled with the magic one single coat could create. This, I knew, was the epitome of making “IT” whatever it was.
It was the early 60s, little did we know what was to come.
At that time, I didn’t know the Flapper had been arrested wearing a mink coat on a NY subway in 1930. I had no idea she had been involved with one of the deadliest gangsters in NY. My Mother, the gun moll. All of this she told me later, much later as the Bride slept in her crib.
After the Bride’s birth, in the roaring 1980s when we returned to NJ, Bob bought me a decadent, dark, black mink coat, big shoulders, floor length, and all. My initials were embroidered on the inside, making me melt with pride. But, fur was beginning to be ethically unacceptable.
I wore that coat maybe twice. It was like getting to 8th grade, and finding out your class wasn’t going to DC because the previous class had embarrassed everyone.
In Cville, a friend asked me if I’d like to have the mink re-purposed. A vest? Or maybe a raincoat lined with fur? I wasn’t into doing that, and yet I couldn’t let it go. I think that beautifully decadent mink coat is in the Pod. And now, I’m not sure what to do with it, because I know I’ll never wear it again.
Maybe the Bug will want it? I remember wearing an old raccoon coat to football games in high school – it was so weird and strange. Just like me! This is us, feeding the dogs!
MountainMornings 
I have my grandmother’s mink. It’s knee length and flared- a weird style– and I love seeing her name in the lining. I wear it –when it’s freezing– it’s great for walking the dog in the early am, and also wear it into NY now and then. Really too bulky to wear driving around in the suburbs, in/out buildings, on/off subways.. but I still like having it. I repurposed a coat of my great aunt’s into a cape and never wear it– I don’t have those sorts of events to attend. Keeping both and will give to my daughter (who’ll prob use as costumes), or granddaughter. And if I’m in NY and wearing it, I see plenty of fur coats and no one has ever thrown eggs at me.
Your grandmother must have been a flapper! Knee length and flared sounds fabulous. I somehow feel guilty wearing mine. Tried explaining “guilt” to the Bug recently, that’s another story…of course I’m not attending any soirees anymore either!
And so cute that you were both in G & D. Love that show.