Mama's Mouton
During the 1950's Mama saved up from her stock clerk job at a big department store in N.Y. When she had enough money, she purchased a mouton* coat. It was beautiful heavy, capable of withstanding New York winters and probably would do just fine in Alaska. It had a rich warm brown color, lined, with a high collar that covered her ears and wide sleeves almost like the sleeves on a kimono except the lining wrapped around her wrist to keep out the cold. It wasn't a mink, or a sable, Mama couldn't afford either, but she looked fantastic in her mouton. She only wore it to church and on special occasions like when Daddy took her out for a night of dancing at the Savoy Ballroom. For a long time, we kids didn't know what a mouton was or even how to spell it. All we knew was that it was some sort of fur coat and that Mama loved it. When Mama died, my brother inherited her mouton along with the house and whatever items his siblings left when we struck