The Green Coat

"Why can't you just wear normal clothes?" Nor Anderson

It was a cool autumn day in the year 2000, and I was walking home from school. I had just turned 18 years old, and so far it hadn't been going all that well. The day after my birthday, my aunt passed away after a long battle with cancer. Weeks later, my long term boyfriend told me I was "too sad all the time" and broke up with me.

Life really wasn't all that grand. I was suppose to be celebrating my transition into adulthood, and instead was spending most days angry or crying. Looking back that actually seems appropriate. We all know, as adults you learn fast that life isn't fair and in fact it tends to kick you when you are already down.

I was a fairly sad Sally, but my parents had done something wonderful for my birthday that year. I consider myself a bit of a hippy, and in High School I was a full force eco-feminist vegetarian tree hugging hippy. I had my eye on a knitted coat in the downtown area that was a bit pricey but one of a kind.

My mother went to the store with me, and I could tell from her expression she wasn't to fond of the coat, which made me want it more (I was in High School after all). It was a lime green knitted shag coat. It had wooden buttons up the front and fringe on the sleeves and bottom.

I loved it. It was unique and I was beside myself when my parents bought it for me. In High School I wore a uniform and went to a Catholic School. I didn't wear the stupid kilt, I wore a white collar shirt and grey pants. Boring.

My coat contrasted the blah uniform and I stood out. I am sure people were snickering the first time I wore it too school, but I didn't care, I felt cool. In a time of sadness, this coat made me happy and that's really what matters.

So back to walking home, where I started with this story. It was a typical autumn day in southern Ontario, the leaves were changing colour and littered the roads as they fell. The sun was out but the air was crisp, perfect weather to walk home.

I made my way down the road, and feeling the cold air on my face tried to smile and appreciate life. I knew that things would get better with time, just had to keep my head up. I crossed the street and started to head up the final hill on the sidewalk until my turn off into my neighbourhood.

As I approached the base of the hill, I noticed a car headed towards me. It had its blinker on, and began to slow down. I could see it was two men in the car, looked to be about mid to late twenties. The passenger was rolling his window down and I waited to see what they were going to ask me.

I felt a bit nervous as they got closer and finally slowed down right next to me. That's when the passenger leaned out the window and yelled at me. He yelled in a loud voice....

"Nice COAT....FREAK"

With that the driver hit the gas and the car sped off as I stood there motionless on the sidewalk. What the FUCK was all that raced through my mind. I stood there for what felt like twenty minutes, then started to walk up the hill. As I turned onto the side street I felt the tears welling in my eyes.

By the time I got home I burst through the door crying, and my mother looked up from her book at me as I crashed through the front door. Her expression was that of concern and she asked me what was wrong.

With that, I burst into laughter. When I tried to tell her the story, suddenly I realized how ridiculous it was. First off, who other than High School kids would bully someone like that? They were (in my mind at the time) grown men who should simply know better.

Secondly, why signal? It was a spontaneous drive by yelling, it was a pre planned pull over. Responsible enough to signal, but not enough to know better. The other confusing factor, why the fuck did they then speed off? He took such care to alert the other drivers he was about to harass a teenager (clear from the uniform UNDER the green coat) but failed to alert them that he was done and merging back into traffic.

Lastly, who the FUCK does that? Do we not live in a world where people can wear whatever they want? I wasn't inappropriately dressed, I was just really bright.

Eventually, the coat became known as the freak coat, and still hangs on my coat rack in my front hallway. NICE COAT FREAK, is another phrase that gets tossed around my family.

Mainly at me, when I wear something my family thinks is ridiculous. Even if it's neither coat nor green.

To the gentleman in the vehicle, thank you. Thank you for making a special coat spectacular.