Bag Withdrawal

Do Women Have This Problem With Purses?

I'm not up to flogging the Katrina situation right now, so you'll forgive me if I post something completely frivolous.

My carryall had an aneurysm. I call it a carryall, but you could call it a softsided attache, a brief bag, possibly even a "murse" (man-purse). A rip began in the nylon fabric near the shoulder-strap anchor point, and has now progressed to a gaping hole that threatens to spill out my cell phone and/or digital camera.

Unfortunately, the old "stitch in time saves nine" proverb doesn't apply to ripstop nylon. Once that stuff starts to unravel, your only real hope is to melt it all together, or slap on an epoxy patch. Sewing it just never works.

So, I have undertaken the traumatic task of finding a replacement. Of course, you can never find the exact model you had before, 'cause it's been out of style for years. Also, this one was bought before the laptop case became popular, and now laptop cases are about all you can find.

One rule I try to live by is to 'have your shit wired tight' at all times, so if you need something, you know exactly where it is, even by touch if necessary. I've had this bag so long, I can dig around in the correct pocket for sunglasses, flashlight, Tylenol, pistol (forget you saw that), etc. without taking my eyes off the road.

Going to a new bag bollixes that up for a good long while. It took me forever to get over the switch from a backpack after all those years on campus. I had one soft attache bag before this one, but it didn't last all that long.

I've found two so far that I thought might work as replacements. One was bought at Target, but I think I'll be returning that one. The other I got last night at OfficeMax, and if I can get used to that one, I'll go back and buy another to keep in reserve for when it wears out 8-10 years from now. I shoulda done that dozens of times in the past, when I've found shoes/shirts/pants I've liked.

Now, I need to decide what to do with the old worn-out bag. I hate to just throw it away. I'd like to give it a Viking funeral, but nylon makes a nasty smoky fire, and you can never get all that melted crud out of the Weber grill afterwards.