Something to Believe In
Twenty two years ago I bought a Coach briefcase. The kind that has two locks, one on either side of the handle. It lived a hard life, because I used it every day, stuffing it full of papers and lugging it everywhere. It spent a lot of times in courtrooms all across America. It also traveled a lot, and spent time in American Embassies and corporate boardrooms abroad. It served as a place to work on airplanes and in airports. It carried many a book that I read. It was a good and dependable friend, even serving as an impromptu umbrella on more than one occasion to give me some shelter from a sudden downpour.
Sure it was showing its age, the leather rubbed and scratched with time, but I wouldn't think of parting with it. Ping and Cici teased me about it, asking me when I would buy a new one. I don't need a new one, I told them. This one is in perfectly good shape. A couple of days ago, however, one of those locking mechanisms broke right off. I had to face the sad fact that its many days of working with me were over.
As I recall, I paid $375 for that briefcase. They cost substantially more than that now. It seemed like a lot to pay for a briefcase at the time, but it worked out to be only about seventeen bucks a year. That is less than a nickel a day. I ordered a new one last night as Cici looked over my shoulder. Get the black one, Papa, she told me. It matches your suits better than the brown one. She didn't even balk at the price.
Will the new one also last twenty years? I don't know, but if it does nothing else, it gives me something to believe in.
Sure it was showing its age, the leather rubbed and scratched with time, but I wouldn't think of parting with it. Ping and Cici teased me about it, asking me when I would buy a new one. I don't need a new one, I told them. This one is in perfectly good shape. A couple of days ago, however, one of those locking mechanisms broke right off. I had to face the sad fact that its many days of working with me were over.
As I recall, I paid $375 for that briefcase. They cost substantially more than that now. It seemed like a lot to pay for a briefcase at the time, but it worked out to be only about seventeen bucks a year. That is less than a nickel a day. I ordered a new one last night as Cici looked over my shoulder. Get the black one, Papa, she told me. It matches your suits better than the brown one. She didn't even balk at the price.
Will the new one also last twenty years? I don't know, but if it does nothing else, it gives me something to believe in.
I always wanted a good briefcase, but when the future in engineering left, there wasn't much need...
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The future has returned, Smitty, Engineers are hard to come by these days, at least in the Houston area. Companies are having to look overseas to bring in help, and the shortage is expected to grow even greater - dramatically so. It might be a good time to reconsider the need for that briefcase.
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Naw, the brain drain in the lesser Washington decided to give my field away, just like the VCR.
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