BLOG: Whose bag is it? Part 3
In September 2017, I wrote about an old doctor’s bag I found in one of the conference rooms where we hold our endocrine fellowship teaching sessions. The bag had three letters printed in silver permanent ink: J.F.C.
I fell in love with the doctor’s bag, and I thought it would be the perfect name for my blog. I took the bag and showed it to our department chair. She did not know the owner, who must have been a former physician from the 1960s or 1970s, given the style of the bag. She told me that the former chair had a tradition of collecting old doctor’s bags from community doctors or their families. She advised that I contact our former chair, and she could not remember who the bag belonged to either.
It took me about a year to discover whose bag it was. I could not believe how that year-long search unfolded; it was both touching and hilarious. That part of the story is detailed in a subsequent post on this blog,
In this post, I will tell the story of another bag.
Last spring, around the onset of the global pandemic, I purchased an eBike for exercise. The bike was not in inventory and the store had to order it; the pandemic lockdown then was implemented, and I could not get my bike for several weeks, as I discussed in a post last May.
I could not wait for the lockdown to ease up a bit, when bike stores were added to the list of essential businesses that were allowed to reopen in Michigan. Once I got the bike, I was so happy to start exercising with my son. That was timely, because our gym was closed and was not allowed to reopen.
The bike’s seat was not comfortable, so I asked my tailor to design a cover for the seat, of leather stuffed with sponge. The tailor said he could do that, but he did not have leather. I asked him where I could find a piece of leather for the cover. He asked me if I had an old leather jacket that I did not need, and I said no. He then suggested that I go to one of the fabric stores in town to buy a piece of leather, or to go to the Goodwill store and buy a used leather jacket, which would cost me about $10 or $20.
I went to a Goodwill store in our area. At the time, I did not find leather jackets. However, as I was looking around the store, I came across the section for men’s and women’s bags. I spotted some leather bags: men’s handbags and computer bags, ranging in price from $5 to $10, most originally expensive brands. I picked a computer leather bag and purchased it for $4.99. At first glance, I thought there would be a large piece of leather that the tailor could cut out for the bike’s seat cover.
When I opened the bag at home, I fell in love with it. It was well-used, so it did look old and old fashioned, but it was of great quality. The bag has so many pockets, layers, zippers and sections. I also found a brand-new penlight. But I did not find any personal info that could identify its former owner.
I had then undergone a change of heart: I decided that I would not sacrifice the bag, but would actually keep and use it.
I went back to the tailor. I told him that I could not find a jacket, and I told him about the bag’s story. He then suggested that I order a cover online or buy one from the bicycle store. I did the latter.
So, while I like my “new” leather computer bag, I really wish to know whose bag it is. I feel that a wonderful friendship could be forged between me and the bag’s owner.
Perhaps someone who reads this post may know the owner, and connect us?
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