Fur goodness sake.

Here's a situation which has befallen a few of my friends and acquaintances; your beloved grandmother or great-aunt dies and leaves you, among other things, a mink stole. Your grandmother or great-aunt's husband worked long and hard to pay for such a luxury, and the donor of this object was terribly proud of it.

Sad to say, you feel differently. Since very few women under the age of eighty look at a stole and think "Wow! Must be my lucky day! It will go so well with my khakis!", you don't wear it. Maybe you're like me and the thought of wearing fur gives you the yips. No one in your life wants to buy it, and some charities won't even take them anymore (what with everybody's beloved grandmother or great-aunt bequeathing the same damn stoles). You don't want to just throw the thing away, because it must be worth something to somebody. So, unloved and unwanted, it sits in your closet, only drawing attention to itself every November when the box holding it falls on your head when you are getting out the Christmas lights.

But, wait! They are worth something to somebody! Or, rather, something. Wrap the stole, or the jacket, or the fur collar, or whatever sort of fur you are currently responsible for, and send it to the Humane Society. They will use that fur for helping to rescue and rehabilitate baby animals who should still be cuddling up to a soft, furry mom. And not only have you helped a small, innocent creature, you get a tax write-off.

Next November, when the box doesn't fall on your head, you can thank me.