The Prodigal Purse

Kill the fatted calf, for what was lost, has now been found! Moving out of my place in Cincinnati and getting it all back to my parents' joint was a quick process-- the packing that I did was quick and literally painful, and the packing that other people did for me was unsupervised. I am still unsure of where a few things are, and until I move again, I don't really care. However, I'd noticed a few weeks ago that a favorite purse of mine was missing. The first step I take whenever something is missing is to ask my sister Jennie because she has notoriously sticky fingers when it comes to my things. (This shit goes back two decades. Forrealsies.) Over the past few weeks, I've made a conscious effort to not lose my mind over Jennie taking things of mine because I don't own a ton of things that are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, at least not in terms of apparel or accessories. But, this purse was a find and it's unique in that it gets better, softer, and more attractive the older and more worn it gets. (Like a good hoodie.) Jennie and Carrie both pleaded the Fifth. Mama Jan claimed ignorance.

Earlier this evening, Jan suggested that I go spelunking in the backroom of the basement on a hunt for the missing purse. Risky move. But, imagine my surprise and utter delight when I found a massive summer-camp-sized duffel bag, filled with my things!! I found the prodigal purse [really, it's a good one-- sort of a ruched wristlet, great shade of navy, supple leather, fits my hand perfectly, holds just the right amount of stuff, etc.], a kelly-green vintage frame bag that I found at a Salvation Army for $0.99, the wallet I used during the 2008 campaign that has an Obama-Biden sticker stuck inside, and the pack I used while traveling in Europe that fits my back to a T. Remember in the young-adult fiction book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen when the protagonist retrieves the emergency rescue bag from the cockpit of the plane he crashed? And suddenly he had food, matches, a blanket, medical supplies, and all sorts of awesome things to make a desperate situation better. Remember that? Ok, well, finding my purse and the other things wasn't anything like that-- I mean, I'm not ridiculous-- but it was pretty damn nice!