The Things I Carry

A few months ago, Graham and I were walking down a rainy 3rd Avenue, when we spotted a large pocketbook. It was filled to the brim with a young woman's life--not just her money, but all her identification and various paraphernalia. Here's a bit of advice: put your "if found, please return to..." information in your wallet! After her license proved fruitless for an address to mail it back to her, we were forced to dig deeper. It was very uncomfortable, because I wanted to be as respectful as I could, but I also wanted to get this thing back to her as soon as possible--as it obviously HER LIFE in there! I was amazed at how much the things she carried in her pocketbook painted a picture of who she was.*

I've been making lists the last couple of days for ideas of things to do when in need of a new way to look at the world. I was inspired to draw my lunch box yesterday and to note all the things I brought for lunch--which made me think, what else do I bring with me everyday? What story do they tell all on their own?

I carry a bag with me everywhere I go. I switch off sometimes, but my favorite bag is one my friend Jenny Sue made me for my birthday two years ago, out of a tablecloths she bought at the Santa Cruz flea market. I love the fabric and how it reminds me of her. It has ink stains on the bottom from when my pens come loose. I recently started carrying a smaller purse that my friend Meg gave me years ago inside the bag, because I got so sick of never being able to find my keys or wallet or phone. I love this purse because it's fuzzy like a stuffed animal, and it's a good size for the smaller things. Graham always asks me, "Why do you need all this stuff?"
"Just in case." I say.
"Just in case of WHAT?"
"If I get stranded anywhere."
"Are you really going to want your JOURNAL if you are STRANDED?"
"Absolutely."

What are the things you use every day and what are the stories they could tell? Your phone, or your keys or even your glasses. Where did you get your coat and where have you worn it--what streets has it seen and in what cities? The essential things that we carry with us, all live with us. What do they look like and what would they say, if they could speak?

*By the way, we got the pocketbook to her at last, completely in tact. She called us and asked, "How did you find me?" In your pocketbook.