No more meatloaf, please and thank you

/ February 7, 2016
Too thick.

Too thick.

The infomercial about the ultra-thin wallets has caught my eye.

Not enough to go to the phone or web site, mind you, but enough to push me over the line regarding the life span of my trusty black leather version.

Too worn. Too thick.

A hockey puck in my possession whenever it must be carried. A meatloaf in my pocket. No, I am not that happy to see you.

Then I recalled that before she passed a dozen years ago, among the many gifts bestowed upon me by my mom was a very thin tan wallet. Not my style, I thought back then as I gave my thanks. I stuck it in my dresser. It made it to several new dresser since, a sentimental tie, a memory of Dolores’ generosity — and propensity toward giving me things I didn’t ask for, want, or particularly need.

Nice and thin.

Nice and thin.

This wallet was much like the TV commercial version, I thought.

I pulled it out from the bottom of my other-stuff drawer.

My new wallet contains only what I need. Credit cards, insurance cards, driver’s license, work ID. Oh, the non-essentials I used to think were mandatory ingredients for the meatloaf.

Senior picture for my terrific daughter Elisabeth.

Senior picture for my terrific daughter Elisabeth.

The only loss I’ve felt is the photograph fold. That’s gone into my other-stuff drawer. But really, it’s been years since I’ve felt the need to pull that out to show off my daughter’s high school senior picture. She turns 26 in April. And nowadays I can just call up All Photos on my iPhone 6.

I still prefer to carry the wallet in a coat pocket instead of pants pocket if at all possible. And when traveling, it goes in a front pocket, not back pocket, for comfort and security. Just sayin’.

What stuff do you haul around daily in your wallet or purse? When did you last clean out your personal take-around? What style wallet or purse do you prefer, and why?

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50 thoughts on “No more meatloaf, please and thank you”

  2. No wallet, one black purse. Credit and insurance cards in a 35-year-old black plastic waterproof snap-open card/cash-holder on-a-string, clipped onto the inside of the purse, originally marketed to surfers.

    Purse also holds phone, tissues, glasses, keys, saccharine, coupla’ teabags, one dose of medications, proofs of prescriptions, and, often, a small water bottle, fruit, and a book.

    Had I been born a straight male, I’d always haul a backpack, I guess.

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    • Sorry you couldn’t make it to Shifty’s the other weekend, Margaret, but it as sure nice to see Robert for the SU game on TV. We’ll have to meet up with our thin wallets again soon, my friend.

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  6. Sometimes I think I’m jealous y’all get to carry such a tiny thing. Of course, being married, I know that I am the keeper of all those bleeping cards they insist you have wherever you shop, and at times, I carry more of The Mister’s things than he does, but you didn’t ask about that, now didja? lol
    I have been using a specific wallet for seven or eight years now. I rarely open it. It sits in the bottom of my purse until someone asks me for insurance cards or whatever. I do have photos of my kids and nephews in there, which now seems strange, as I realize they’re all on my phone…
    I keep the important and frequently used stuff in the pockets of my bags. It still annoys me. I’m always happy to slip the essentials into a clutch for an evening, until I’m out and wish I had hand cream or tissues or s’more mints. Then I sigh.
    I think it’s really great that you’re now using a gift that was long ago given to you.

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    • You have a great strategy, Joey. Except for the hand cream, tissues or s’more mints, that is. Yes, having a wallet that my mom gave me is really pretty cool now. 🙂 Thanks for seeing that.

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  7. We recently found out that some of those new men’s wallets set off security alarms at a few retail stores…no hidden tags or metal to be found…curious and curiouser. I walk mostly with ID and a bit of cash in the pockets, leave purse secured in the car. Happy Super Bowl, Mark. ☺

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    • I see the security gate set off for no apparent reason at the store I work all the time, Van. Now you gave me a reason to suspect: The man’s new, thin wallet. Hmmmmm. Enjoy the Super Bowl, my friend. I am on dinner break at work. I will watch on the DVR, a little late better than a lot late!

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  10. i have a small card holder/wallet-type thing that i can fit in my small purses that i usually carry. on those times that i use a big purse, i use the big wallet with all kinds of things inside )

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  12. My dad carried an old black and white picture of me (a professional portrait of when I was a year old) for decades. The edges were frayed, the image had faded. But seeing it in his wallet when I was in my 30s meant so much to me. It was so touching. ❤
    Diana xo

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  14. My hubs dislikes carrying a wallet with a passion and rarely does, he also does not like carrying coins in his pocket. When he is out of town on business he will carry one with just the essentials in the locked glove box compartment in his truck. Locally he never carries one!

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  16. Very nice new wallet! It will fit nicely in your new jeans, I am sure! My Mr. B hates carrying his around and often times keeps in the car – YIKES! He is too trusting of the residents of little ‘ol Amherst. 🙂

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  18. Paring down and getting a thinner wallet is a great idea. I don’t think Elisabeth will mind. If you sat on it, it would be better for your back, too. I guess no one around here wears jackets, so it’s hard to imagine them putting wallets in a coat pocket, but I guess it makes sense if it’s cold. Ladies switch out their purses regularly, so I go through mine at least once a month or two, tossing any unnecessary business cards, etc. The hub’s wallet is so thick, I always worry it’s throwing his spine alignment off. Come to think of it, I don’t carry any pics in my wallet at all. And most of the time when we go out, I grab my ID and Discover to put in my back pocket, and that’s it. Purses are a pain. Hey, it’s nice that your mom’s gift had a way of working for you. It’s nice when things work out.

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    • I’m glad I kept this wallet as an emotional tie to my mom, and now it surely is paying off, Kerbey. Yeah, that big, old bomber was killing me every time I had to carry it! Some of us men keep every last thing in our wallets until we wake up one day and say enough!

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  19. Hey, Mark, the wallet thing really is a guy specialty since few of us carry a purse. I’ve come to prefer a tri-fold, which fits into a shirt pocket. Early in my career as a copy editor, I asked our slot man (the copy desk chief), why he wore his there and learned that he still had shrapnel wounds but also that sitting on a fat wallet for hours on end could really throw your back out of alignment. Voila!
    (More recently, as I’ve shifted to turtlenecks, I’ve found pants that accommodate a wallet in a front pocket.)
    I agree with you about the photos. Besides, they’re usually outdated.
    The other thing I look for in a wallet is an attachment that allows me to hang a spare key or two beside the folding currency. Keeping a car key there has come in handy more times than I’d like to admit. The first time was at a self-service gas station in New Jersey when I (you guessed it) locked my other keys inside. Four states away from home, I simply retracted my wallet, withdrew the key when nobody was looking (my pride, actually), and blithely drove away.

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