The picture above is of my wife, Margaret Ellen (Rogers) George wearing The Magic Coat.<br /> <br /> We were married, 7 March 1950, in the chapel at Argentia by Fr. Edward Madigan, Chaplain, USN.<br /> <br /> Davey L. George, HMCS,USN, Ret. <br /> <br /> The Magic Coat<br /> <br /> She saw it as soon as she turned the windy corner. It was in the display window of a small clothing store on Water Street in St. John's, Newfoundland Although there were other coats, it was the only one she really saw. It stood a little to one side of center and draped the mannequin like some fantastic fashion from Hollywood or maybe Paris, France.<br /> <br /> It was a 'cloth' coat but in a leopard print. Along with its matching hat and purse it was the most magnificent coat she had ever seen. The collar was made up as a muffler and each end could be left to hang casually or be thrown over the shoulders in a more stylish fashion.. She had to have it, no matter what it cost. She would wear it at her wedding that was coming soon.<br /> <br /> Forty dollars was the cost and it took practically every cent she had, but a coat like this comes only once in a life time she reasoned, justifying the extravagance. In 1950 that was a lot of money and her weekly income didn't come near the price. Well, no matter she determined, and soon the coat was hers.<br /> <br /> She wore it to her wedding and for many years afterward. Eventually, the hat was cast away and the purse became too worn to be used, but the coat stayed and was worn over the years. <br /> <br /> At first it was her only coat, but as time went by others came, and then still others came to replace them, but the leopard print coat remained and though it was worn less each year it was brought out and used at least once every winter.<br /> <br /> But the coat had a different role to play in its life time. Every child she bore felt its warmth when they became sick and just by being wrapped in it, they felt better. Through the long years she still wore the coat at least once every winter to keep the magic alive.<br /> <br /> Now her children have grandchildren. But the coat remains and is still worn at least once a year. She knows that someday the magic may be needed again and the coat must be ready.<br /> <br /> DeLee   Submitted By: Davey George