My Coin Purse

The coin purse on the left has been my constant companion for thirteen years. Let's put that in perspective, shall we? I've had that coin purse over twice as long as I've known my wife. When I got that coin purse, Clinton hadn't yet begun his second term. I bought that coin purse a decade before anyone would use the idiotic word "metrosexual." Since buying that coin purse, I've received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree. I've been licensed as an interpreter for the Deaf and as a minister. I've successfully run a business and performed in New York City. That coin purse has traveled from Texas to Spain. It's older than a Jonas Brother and only a few years younger than Mylie Cyrus. It's a teenager.

So what's the story, eh? Why's it so important? It's important because I bought it at Georgetown Leather after graduating from high school. I needed a place to hold all my change because, like any person with half a clue, I realized that carrying around a bunch of loose change in my pocket was stupid. But I needed something masculine. After all, I was about to pursue a career in musical theatre.

So I chose this one. Leather. Brown. Sturdy. Masculine. Did I throw it away when one of the pins came out of the hinge? Nope. Check out that far left hinge. I just twisted off a little paper clip in it and pretended nothing happened. Did I toss it when the seam on the right side split? Nope, I just turned it hole-side-up in my pocket. It still worked... ish.

But, I've reached a time in my life when I'm having to let go of things. I need to move on. In a few weeks I move to Nashville, Tennessee. It's a new start for me. And let's face it, the world is a different place. I don't carry as much change anymore. I use debit cards and what not. But even though it's time to finally say goodbye to my manly little coin purse, I'll never forget how it outlasted governments and girlfriends, degrees and jobs, states and nations, and of course pennies and quarters.

God bless Georgetown Leather. God bless Potomac Mills Mall. And God bless America.