A long time ago I read the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. It is an eloquent and evocative account of the Southeast Asian War and how soldiers coped with a hell they could neither understand nor survive unscathed — if they lived at all.
Today I am not writing about anything nearly as dramatic and horrific as that. Rather, I want to touch on the fact that Tim O’Brien called out for special attention the things that a soldier chose to put in a pack and hump along a trail in the jungle as being indicative of who they were.
The point is that when you carry something around with you every day there is a reason. It doesn’t need to be a practical reason at all — but there is a reason. And by inspecting the objects and the meaning they hold for an individual you can gain an insight — however slight — into what makes them tick.
So today I put my cards (well, not cards, actually) on the table. In other circles, this is called your “everyday carry”. Although there can be a distinct tinge of survivalism to those who are into “everyday carry”, and pictures often show weapons, I’m more into a pacifist style of carry. I put things in my pockets that can help myself or others in a jam. I’m not out to kill anyone.
My “everyday carry” includes:
- A Leatherman multi-tool.
- A Swiss Army knife (which has things the Leatherman tool does not, such as tweezers and the absolutely essential corkscrew).
- A flashlight.
- 20 feet of paracord.
- A 4GB USB drive.
- A lighter.
- A handkerchief and comb.
- A cash wallet and a plastic card wallet.
- A pen.
- Breath freshening strips. Because.
What this might say about me I will leave up to your interpretation. Suffice it to say I’ve developed this over the years as being the things I need to feel prepared for what life might throw at me or those around me. Keep in mind that I live in earthquake country, where you never know when you might have to dig yourself or others out of the rubble.
Let me know in the comments what your “everyday carry” consists of, and why.
About Roy Tennant