I don’t fall into the classic story. I never found a mysteriously wrapped plastic magazine in the mailbox. I was never searching for change or baseball cards in my Dad’s closet when I found one hidden in the sock drawer. But my family is, strangely, the main reason why I remain so fixated on Playboy.

My great grandfather (God, I hope I get this story mostly right) was teaching a class. Some boys in the back kept on snickering. After several attempts at hushing them, he went to the back of the room and confiscated the envelope they’d been hanging on to and drooling over. He put it in his desk and forgot about it until the end of the school year. When cleaning out his desk, he opened up the envelope to find the original Playboy Marilyn Monroe pictorial. It came with a plastic “coverup” screen of a blue and green robe to lay on top of the picture and cover the nudie parts.

(Sorry it’s so dark. We had issues with the flash reflecting off Marilyn’s skin.)

He gave this picture to my Mom, who loved Marilyn back in the day. Still the picture ended up in the top drawer of the TV stand, next to some collected menus and Mom’s diplomas. (Maybe the drawer part sucks me into the cliché?) I always knew it was there. I never snuck to look at it or anything. But I did fall in love with Marilyn around the time I was in middle school. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Niagara, Bus Stop, Let’s Make Love, etc etc. I love them all! I dug up the old picture to find it somewhat heat damaged around the edges from our move to and from Honduras. It became my mission to frame and finally preserve this piece of art/history/beauty. This is one of my most prized possessions.

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