Time in possession: Roundabouts 16 years.Description: Black duffel bag, featuring logos for the long-since defunct company ComputerLand. The zippers and detailing is done in the worst early 90s indigo imaginable, but make the bag pretty visible off of airport conveyor belts. At this point the bag is broken at several points- The main compartment in particular has a broken zipper and a Velcro latch that is hanging on by a thread. Well used, you know?
Cost: This was a freebie given to my dad when he worked there and then later appropriated by me, so let's call it a $1.99 Value Village special.
Story: Material possessions for many people are tangible signs of their progression, through adulthood, through the ranks of status, whatever. This bag, to me, was a sign of my growing older and a tangible sign of my own personal owning of property. When I went travelling (with my family most of the time- I was 8 when I first started using it!) this was my bag and in it went my things. I packed it, I kept track of what I had in it and carried it to and from the places I went. My bag, my belongings, my status symbol of maturity and responsibility.
Plus, having never played hockey, it was the closest thing that I've ever had to a hockey bag and I always thought that they were cool.
This bag has been all over with me. It's been all around North America, and to Scotland at least once. In addition to clothes it has held beer, video game systems, RPG crap, Halloween costume props and once, a puppy. At this point it is in dire need of replacement, but it works well enough for it's semi-retired duties, and really, there are so many memories with this bag it's hard to let go. I get the impression that it will probably fall apart at the seams before I decide to trash it, and if that's the case, then it will be with me a long while still.
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