For a long time there were only two essential things that I carried everywhere: keys and wallet. Two was a manageable number of objects that I had to remember to put into pockets, and two was a manageable number of pockets to put them in.
Then my first phone bumped that number to three. When reading glasses became the fourth must-carry item, it started to feel like there were too many objects to always remember and too few pockets to put them in. When the seasons changed, or when traveling, it got harder to reset the canonical locations for all four things.
Although I listen to tons of podcasts, headphones never made the list of always-carry items. But when I emptied my pockets the other day I realized that my magic number is now five. AirPods are the new take-everywhere item.
For a while I resisted the recommendation to upgrade from a wired headset to AirPods. Did I really need another small, rechargeable, easy-to-lose object (actually, three of them)? I’ve learned not to expect that yet another electronic gadget will improve my life. But this one has. Dave Winer, you were right.
Obviously this trend can’t continue indefinitely. Will that thing we anachronistically call a “phone” absorb the wallet, and maybe even the keys? I’m not sure how I feel about that!
Meanwhile, there’s my trusty belt pack. It’s dorky but there’s a pocket for everything, and it works consistently across seasons and continents.
Jon, your post reminded me of a wonderful short story (the things they carried by Tim O‘Brien) I first read more than 25 years ago.
I was indeed thinking of that, was going to mention it, thanks!
Belt Pack for the win! Definitely allows for that required object creep that inevitably happens, way easier than pockets in pants.
One of my favorite genres of blog posts are like this one, observations of every day life that make me go “same here!”
It was somewhere I. Young adulthood where if I left home and did not feel the bulge of the wallet I was sitting on, I felt “wrong”. That seems to have been replaced by the off feeling of leaving home w/o the phone.
The merge is possible, I can start my (modern) Ford with the app (not by 1998 one) and I guess I could app and pay $ (never do).
As a 50+ year type 1 diabetic my must carry is a pack of glucose tablets.
I’m not quite ready for Air Pods for your stated reasons, but trust your lead. Thanks for being a regular writer here, Jon.
@jonudell Perhaps the phone is why the hoodie with the single big front pocket is now so popular?
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I like the fact you’re calling it a “belt pack”. I suppose “fanny pack” is out of date now. Time to level up to a modern belt pack that I can wear for more’n just hikes.
I find everywhere where I go in the UK takes contactless, so I don’t need a wallet any more.
Does the phone suffice for things that we still need to prove with a driver’s licence, including age and travel identity?