Without A Wallet

Without a wallet, I believe every man would be a little less of a man. As insignificant as that little square of leather is, for many it is something of a rite of passage when a previously wallet-less boy obtains his first wallet. For one, it signifies that he is mature and sufficient enough to probably have money of his own—hence the wallet. But there’s more to it than that.

I remember my first wallet. As of yet, I have only owned two. My grandfather gave it to me after I had earned a substantial amount of money (at least for a 7 year old boy). Though this wallet was large, bulky, and looked like a toy, it filled me with great pride to finally own one. I’m still not sure if it was even a real wallet or something my grandpa found at a toy store, but such details weren’t relevant at this time in my life. I had a wallet—and I think I grew up a little more than usual on that day.

A man’s gender opposite may have anywhere from five to twenty purses at any given time of her life. Because of this painfully noticeable fact, I fear females fail to recognize the significance of maintaining a loyalty to the object that carries our money around. In stark contrast with this fickle nature, I have yet to meet a man that owns more than one wallet (or at least one that would admit it). Many times, this wallet will last him an entire lifetime, serving its noble purpose without complaint until it simply falls apart. It will travel around in his rear pocket silently, for years, until it almost becomes a part of him.

Today, I possess a solid looking brown leather wallet. Its edges have become slightly frayed and worn, but this doesn’t bother me at all. Instead of going out and buying a new one, I look at my wallets aging as a sign of mutual maturity. As I grow older, so does my wallet. The more worn it appears, the period of time that I have possessed it becomes more and more obvious, making it quite clear to cashiers and waiters that I have owned this wallet for a extended period of time, and I don’t plan to exchange it any time soon.

Though people who have never formed a deep bond with their wallet may not understand, it’s an experience everyone should be able to appreciate, even if only once. Some things mean far more than what they are used for, and a wallet is definitely not an exception.

Coffee Time

There are many things that have been accepted in different societies as popular drinks. If you go to England, tea will be an inescapable part of your diet. The Middle Easterners loves Chi, and I hear Germans are very fond of beer. As long as you choose to ignore soda as a possibility, I believe coffee could be titled America’s favorite beverage. But cup by cup, coffee has become more than simply a drink within American society. Swiftly, and with little notice, coffee has become an American pastime.

Hear me out. When I want a drink, I don’t get coffee. I get a soda or a drink of water to quench my thirst, and I drink as much as I need as quickly as I can until my thirst is appeased, and everything is good. Typically, when something is being consumed, it is simply a means to either end hunger or appease a craving (many times the latter).

But something is entirely different when coffee comes into the picture. I am a fairly regular coffee drinker, however, I cannot recall the last time I drove to Starbucks thinking: “I’m thirsty, so I think I’m going to get some coffee.” And when I get coffee, I usually don’t gulp it down to fulfill some sort of physical need (unless severe sleep deprivation has come into the picture).

Rather, you sit down, and slowly sip on it, savoring the flavor, and usually doing hardly anything during the extended period of time that it takes me to finish it. Hours have past during the duration of a single cup of coffee for me. And though coffee is sometimes used to compliment some job of process, (such as the latte I am drinking right now while writing about coffee), drinking coffee is an activity within itself, needing no inspiration other than the mere desire to consume caffeine.

While other consumables are used as the reason for an event, such as going to a restaurant to eat, rarely does someone go to a restaurant simply to eat, or by themselves. There is usually some idea of conversation or comradery that actually inspires such an event. Yet such an excuse is rarely needed at a coffee shop. The company of the coffee, and perhaps a book, is usually enough.

All in all, this may be one of those things within out society that contains no real explanation. One day, coffee may fall from its lofty position of providing sleep deprived people with greatly needed company, but until then, if you’re lonely, go find a cup.

Electrifying Outlets

Now, some people might look at this picture and wonder what kind of significance it could possibly have. Others…..well they recall fond memories of pointy metal objects and fireworks. I regret to state that I am one of those.

Apparently almost everything has a fascination with something. Moths have this thing for lights, bulls seem to get a kick out of red blankets, and little kids, well they seem to like power outlets. I do remember that my own personal story involved severe boredom, remembering I was told not to do it, but wondering why not, and a butter knife. I never tried it again after that one flirt with a life of burnt hair and pretty butterflies.

But why do kids always want to try it? I mean, come one, that little box on the side of the wall really doesn’t look that interesting. And yet, they all seem to gravitate towards it. I suppose it’s honestly just that fascination with the unknown. Everyone knows that if you’re told not to do something as a kid, you just HAVE to do it. It’s just that insatiable curiosity that “trust me, you don’t want to try it,” never appeases.

For example, I never believed that vanilla could possibly taste bad by itself, even though I was told a hundred times, until I tried it myself. Now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my mother knew what she was talking about. And honestly, I suppose there is no better way to convince yourself of something than to experience it yourself. Mind you, there are many eyebrowless people in the world that follow that principle, I’m sure.

And imagine how dull our lives would likely be if we never did anything that we were warned not to do. I can’t be sure, but I’m almost sure that life wouldn’t be quite as exciting (or painful). Here’s my guess: if you want to try it, you will anyway, no matter whether or not you know there would be consequences.

In short: sticking your finger in a power outlet is not a good idea. Trust me. But you really don’t have to trust me. Try it yourself, then you’ll know for sure, and you can tell someone else the same thing. Then they’ll probably try it too, and then.. yeah you get the picture.

Moths will continue to get singed, and bulls aren’t likely to get over their red blanket fetishes anytime soon, so why should we change?

Sunglasses

Everybody knows about sunglasses. Those dark colored things you stick over your eyes when it gets bright outside. Yeah, you’ve heard of them. But what’s more amazing than your knowledge of their existence is their distinctly different usages. Of course, we’re all familiar with the more practical purpose, i.e., to protect the eyes from the sun, (hence the name sunglasses). But there’s something else that has popped up, one day, by some long-forgotten individual. Sunglasses are no longer out there just to protect your eyes from the sunlight that wishes to blind you. Somewhere down the line, some genius realized that wearing sunglasses suddenly made you cooler.

It’s a well-kept secret as to who realized the coolness of sunglasses, but it’s everywhere now. From movies such as The Matrix and Men in Black, it’s a verifiable fact that once you put sunglasses on, you become at least 200% cooler. Somewhere down the line, there’s probably some sort of logical reason for the coolness of sunglasses, but being that it would be so much trouble to discover that answer, and the fact that it would probably be boring anyway, I will provide some likely ideas.

Ironically, the closest thing to sunglasses is glasses. Not all that long ago, wearing glasses was the epitome of nerdyness. You didn’t wear glasses unless you absolutely had to, and hated every minute of it (outside of the fact that you could now see things five feet away.) Sunglasses were the alternative. You didn’t wear sunglasses because you had to, but because you chose to wear them. Back in the day when sunglasses were clunky and ugly just like normal glasses, someone had to have rubbed in the fact that “you’re wearing those glasses because you have to, but I’m wearing these sunglasses cause I feel like it.”

Mysteriousness is cool. I think it has something to do with curiosity. You always want to figure out what’s around the other bend, what the building that says “DO NOT ENTER is for,” what’s inside that dirty van with “FREE CANDY” spray painted on the side, etc. Someone in a dark suit is kind of mysterious. But someone in a dark suit and wearing sunglasses, now that’s mysterious AND cool. The Matrix taught us that much. If you don’t know about something, than there’s always that potential that it could be awesome and interesting.

Maybe, just maybe, they’re also cool just because they are. That might not seem like much of a reason, but coolness is a factor in itself. Some things are just whatever they are because they simply are. Irregardless, they are cool. Someone in the world probably knows the reason why, but until they speak up, there’s a couple of ideas.

So, go find your sunglasses, hope it gets sunny outside, and stroll out reassured in your self-instilled coolness.