What’s in the Murse

First, let’s get a few things out of the way. A “murse” is a man’s purse. Typically (no woke welcome here) women carry a purse and men, a murse.

Years ago in response to my frustration at constantly losing my personal belongings Kathie gave me a murse, a carry-all of a size somewhere between a wallet and an office filing cabinet. You see, I need a lot of gear in order to function happily and well each and every day. For details, see below. It remains to be seen if I carry more “tools of the trade” than other men. It is fair to say however, that I cannot live without my murse.

Following my exercise class just two days ago in the swimming pool changeroom I lost one of my hearing aids. These are not as expensive as other snazzy units, but at 1K/each I really needed to find it. Staff and other pool users helped me scour the gritty floor to no avail. I concluded that it must be in my murse, but gosh, my carry-all was stuffed with . . . stuff.

So I hauled it all out on the sink counter (hoping to avoid sending items down the gaping drain hole). But no . . . Not there, or there, or in that particular compartment or that other special pocket. Gone, gone, gone, along with a thousand dollars. Not good.

Returning home dejected I splayed all the stuff out on the dining room table. Prior to a desperate call to my insurance agency, I took one last look in a paper-thin, slivered pocket, and shabamm—one escapee hearing aid, FOUND. Note to self; clean up this mess; reduce clutter; life will improve.

So I hauled all the stuff out again, this time on the outdoor glass-top table. I turned the murse upside down and shook out all the bits of daily detritus and put the murse through the wash cycle. Came out beautifully; good as new; looks great. Now . . . regarding contents, what can I jettison to improve storage options?

I am certain that by now you are interested in what photographers call “what’s in the bag;” (Paparazzi and wildlife photographers take different gear depending on the gig—though both jobs have a lot in common.) Here is a detailed list of “what’s in the murse,” my  murse, for your enjoyment:

LOW VISION AIDS

• Monocular
• Magnifying glass
• Dark glasses
• Reading glasses

HARDWARE AND MOBILE OFFICE SUPPLIES

• Bike carrier removal tool
• Pocket flashlight
• Pens (at least 2)
• Sticky notes

PERSONAL ITEMS

• My recently published book, Partnership as Mission
• Sweat towel
• Throat lozenges (called “cough drops” in North America)
• Small amount of cash and documents I need close at hand
• Muscle relaxing medication
• Lip balm and anti-fungal cream
• Other ointments, creams and jellies
• Kleenex
• Hearing aid supplies
• Dental floss
• Shoehorn

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

• Memory sticks
• Phone (and occasionally my tablet)
• Remote murse locator (assuming phone and tablet are elsewhere)
• Powerpoint presentation manager with batteries (that fall out constantly)
• Charging cables and transformers
• Camera batteries (Fuji or Nikon)

RELATED TO THE MINISTRY

• Oil stock
• Clergy collar tabs

THINGS NOT INCLUDED — Well that’s another blog. Watch this space.