The Kit, Part 3, The Bag

I once walked from South Sacramento to Freeport. I walked along the river. I spent the night in the grass. I was blessed with good dreams. When I awoke, I walked back to South Sacramento. It was a certain time of my life, in my youth, when I could do things like that. I wandered around and that's just what I did. I did this for most of the 1990s. Everywhere I went I had my notebook and pen, and not much else. I often did not have money, or a change of clothes or a toothbrush. In my youth I cared only for adventure, no matter how that came about.

I've carried a shoulder bag for years. Over the years these shoulder bags have been called: the murse, a book bag or a man purse. I've always called it a purse. It's what it is, it is a bag that carries my wealth. Mostly it's got the notebook, the pen, and a paperback. The other accessories are what you might expect, I got reading glasses, a camera sometimes, or whatever it is I'm into at the time.

It may seem very silly in today's times to carry a bag. I mean, the smartphone has eliminated all the other personal affects. You can have instant access to the world (the virtual world) on your smartphone. You can read your book on the smartphone. The smartphone does need a pen. So why would I carry a bag?

I walk about 8 blocks to work. I walk through Longmont's Roosevelt park, the rose garden particularly. If I have extra time, I like to sit on a bench and enjoy the day. Sometime, I write. Sometimes I read. Sometimes I just sit. I've got all I need, I got a book and a notebook and pen. I can work in Roosevelt park just like I did all those years ago in the grass outside of Freeport on the banks of the American River. My only worries are that I may run out of ink, fill all the pages or finish the book I'm reading. These things have happened, one or two but never all three.

I feel like the bag is an essential part of the writer's kit. I know that not every writer carries a pen and paper. I know that not every writer moves around or walks from one town to the next just to see the sites. I know not all writers are like Basho.

What I do know, if you pack a bag with the essential pieces of your craft and carry that stuff with you everywhere you go, you'll always been prepared. The things you do will always be on your mind as these things are always on your person.

Should you get three minutes of time in a rose garden, you can sit under a tree and write out a few words. Doesn't that sound better than looking into ads on a screen?