Check Your Pockets

Julie McGue

Author

I’m looking forward to the days ahead when a light spring jacket is all that is required. The day I drop my bulky winter coat off at the cleaners feels like a milestone: I’ve survived another Midwest winter. If you are like me though, you need a gentle reminder to check the pockets of your outerwear before retreating to your car. Gloves, lipstick, tissue or loose change almost always weigh down the lining of my pockets. Retracing my steps to retrieve these items is a move I make every effort to avoid.

Since we’re on the subject of coat pockets, I’m going to make a valuable suggestion. Make certain that the outerwear you grab as you exit that noisy bar or spiffy restaurant is in fact the one you own. There’s a plethora of puffy black quilted coats or lined khaki raincoats that populate public places. Same advice applies towards coat checks. If my husband would’ve been more wardrobe aware recently, he would’ve saved us a trip back to a favorite restaurant, as well as, an irate stranger a pricey cab ride home.

The coatroom for a casual local restaurant we frequent consists of two lacquered planks dotted with pegs. Positioned inside the heavy double entry doors, this coat rack is in full view of the hostess station. Brilliant, eh? Park your car, stomp off your boots, fling back the doors, slide off the heavy jacket, and check in with the hostess for a table.

It makes perfect sense: no sloppy string of mufflers, hats and outerwear littering up the area by the tables. No monstrous pile clogging the corner of the booth. No need for a coat check since the hostess has her eagle eye on the comings and goings. Small towns and neighborhood food joints promote trusting atmospheres. Hang your coat and take a seat. No doubt this system will see some modifications thanks to my husband.

The morning after our dinner out, found my husband and me hustling to close up the house and head to the airport. Shuffling through the front closet for my gloves, I noticed two almost identical leather coats hanging side by side. Two were too many for the number of males in our household. I flipped back the collars and lapels. In the coat with the unfamiliar label, I heard a jingle of metal. Inside the right front pocket was a set of keys attached to an unrecognizable car fob. In my palm was a set of keys to a car we didn’t own.

Upon exiting the restaurant the previous evening, my husband had nabbed the wrong outerwear. He’d worn a black bomber’s jacket in to the eatery and exited with a leather coat resembling one he owned. A phone call to the restaurant informed us that an irritated young man had left after a nice evening out, without a coat and without his car keys. We owed him cab fare, his car keys, and his leather jacket. As a trade, my husband’s black bomber was fetched from the manager’s office.

It was an innocent mistake— picking up the wrong coat. No serious harm was intentionally done. Within 24 hours all parties had their proper outerwear and car keys. A valuable lesson was learned: don’t ever leave your car keys in your coat pocket. I would even go so far as to offer that if you love your coat, keep it near you at all times. Unless of course your jacket needs a dry cleaning, and then make sure you empty your pockets.

SHOW MORE POSTS