The bags
The large delivery truck came into the driveway and turned. Then the driver came to the door with a large cardboard box. He did request a signature but he admitted that since nobody ever reads them I could put pretty much whatever I wanted on the imaginary line. So I did. The box contains the most recent sleeping bag to join our family. Not for me because I’m satisfied with my current model but it did bring back memories of bags from bygone times. Stretching back over a lifetime. And the first one that I can really remember was received after selling a lot of greeting cards. What it had as a feature was this plastic panel on one side. Supposed to keep you dry if you were camping in a mud puddle I guess. It was uncomfortable and cold and when I had a chance to replace it with something better I did so. The next bag of note actually had some quality. I had purchased a sack in a war surplus store in downtown Toronto between trains. The military can afford to buy good stuff and even by the time it goes through it’s lifespan it makes it into the surplus market you still have something of quality. I kept that bag for several years until the leakage of tiny feathers became too much for anyone to accept. So many feathers. Since then I have been a fan of fake materials. The ones that come with a tag. And that you can actually dry out and use to keep warm. My current sack has enough slipping up zipping options to make sure that I can get through the warmest of nights and the coldest. Yes I have tried it in cold weather. And now we wait for the next report card. Will the newest bag in the family be suitable for staying out in the winter. The one that will begin any day from my calculation.
