The Autism Diaries?! (Part 48)

A new occasional series here at “Sounds Good“

I have a thing about bags. Well, several. Several things. Several bags. It probably has been with me my whole life. I’ve always liked having special bags to put special things in. Little bags, which probably started with jewellery pouches that my mum and aunty passed down to me and my cousins to play with — and I would do things like put a single Smurf in its own bag. Pull the drawstrings tight. Keep it nice. There was a time when I wore a handbag on the shoulder. I was like four. But I think I was probably discouraged about that, because it was the late 70s and early 80s and, you know. But, of course I was just copying what I saw, and thought it was quite nifty. I also continue to enjoy the repurposing of bags. A sunglasses pouch might be used to house drumsticks or brushes, small bags can carry single cassette tapes so the cases don’t get cracked. I even bought a discus bag — yes! — a bag designed for putting your discus in so that it doesn’t get stolen when you’re doing the other events in the decathlon eh. But I bought this, from the sports store, with the sole purpose of making it my bag I carried my headphones about in. It is perfect. And I do consider myself a genius for spotting how perfect this would be from the pages of a catalogue. We all have our unique genius. And this was mine. At least I used it for good and not evil. When I find a tote bag I like, it is lookout! And so, most recently, I bought two the same. Well, it was an excruciating wait of several months until I found myself in that exact location again, at the correct store. But now I have two of the same, so that I don’t ever feel broken or at a loss. (I will start doing that with shoes, T-shirts, and other favoured items). I cannot walk past the army surplus store without at least a quick look. What if there’s a Swiss medic bag, or a French army shoulder carrier for bullet shells? And what if it’s absolutely perfect for CDs or cassette tapes, yo?