In preparation for my trip last summer, I desperately needed a different purse. I bought a new one just before the Media trip to San Diego in 2012 but I never liked that thing. A purse is a very personal thing. Women would understand that; men, not so much. That purse was more colorful than the black one I use, but it always fell over when I set it down. When I got home, I emptied the new purse back into the black one and eventually the new one went to live with the Salvation Army.
I didn’t realize how long I carried that black purse. Recently scanning old family photos, I ran across a picture of my grandson at about age 5. We were sharing lunch with a friend and her grandchildren while I was visiting in VA. Sure enough, setting on the seat was my faithful black purse. My grandson was 16 this summer! I wish I could say I hung on to it because it was a Louis Vuitton “Handbag” (They call them “handbags,” not “purses” when they cost that much!) or a Chanel “Diamond Forever Classic Bag.” I sorta think my perfect black purse came from Wal-Mart.
When I deposited all the bags of clothes at the second hand shop, I picked up a purse that was colorful but a little scruffy looking (Obviously, someone had used it for a long time – I could feel the love). I brought it home, sprayed it with Shout and threw it in the washer with the Arm & Hammer liquid soap and a dollop of powdered Arm & Hammer for good measure. It came out quite well. It was brighter and more summery than my black one. It had all the zippered pockets that were required and when I set it down, it stayed where I put it, no falling over on the job.
I happily transferred the black purse’s “stuffing” to the pink/aqua/cream-colored purse. I decided against the package of Wrigley’s Winterfresh gum that I had forgotten I still carried. For whatever reason I cannot now fathom, I bought a whole box of it awhile back (a long while back) at Costco. Now when I put a piece in my mouth, I do so gingerly because it breaks into a million pieces. Just a note, the Wrigley Company, Chicago, Illinois, was founded April 1, 1891. I have, glued into the “baby book” my sainted mother created for me, a Wrigley wrapper. (Come to think of it, maybe that’s where that gum came from!) And no, I’m not 1891 vintage, just older than you need to know!
The “little” black purse that will stay with me until I die, because it has all the important cards I need, was transferred to the cheerful purse, AARP, Medicare, Golden Age, charge cards, etc. I added the little box of aspirin – and the whistle. You never know when somebody might try to mug you.
The rest were the usual necessities including the new cell phone. As for the old black bag, I guess you thought I would allow it to retire – no, it looked at me with those sad black handles and I put it very high in the now empty clothes closet. I figured the new purse (well, relatively new) would droop by the end of the trip – and I was right – both of us drooped! Unfortunately the old black purse is stalking the newer one. I’m not sure what will happen. God Bless until next week.
Winter in the Wilderness, the first e-book novel published by Minshall, is offered at most Internet book sites. A print edition may be obtained from Amazon, or you can order an autographed copy from the author at Box 1040, Congress, AZ for $7.95 plus $3.50 for postage and handling. The fourth edition of RVing Alaska and Canada is available through Amazon.com. 
At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”
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