What color is your bag?

There is a dear, sweet friend of mine (I know some of you may find it hard to believe that I actually have a friend, but it’s true.) who has been having purse trouble lately. She has a great purse, too. It was designed with a special outside pouch where she stores her pistol for easy access. Be advised, you should never accost this woman, or most of my friends, without fear of retribution. Yes, most of my female friends are carrying.

So my friend’s purse is red. That’s a great color. Red speaks power. Powerful women are not afraid to wear or carry red. This friend is a powerful woman.

She has, however, been having purse woes. A few weeks ago, she walked into a ladies room at a public building. This was a small restroom with just room for one person. Unfortunately, there was not a hook where she could hang her purse. Having been raised right, she knew not to place her purse on the floor. One cannot imagine the number and types of germs on a public restroom floor.

She placed her purse in the sink and moved to take care of her main purpose. Once seated, she realized that water was running. She looked up to see that the sink had a sensor on it that her purse had triggered. Her purse was being filled with water. It takes a huge amount of toilet paper to dry up the water that can flow into your purse in only 10 seconds. She was successful in her endeavor, and the purse survived.

It was only a couple of weeks later when she found herself again in a one-person restroom in a public building. Having learned the water lesson the hard way, she decided to place her purse on the countertop (one was not available in the aforementioned restroom) instead of in the sink. She moved over and assumed the appropriate position. Seconds later she noticed an odd sound. It was as if a motor was turning off and on in rapid succession. It was the hand soap dispenser, which was directly above her red purse, pumping foamy hand soap into her bag.

Again, she jumped up and moved the purse as soon as it was prudent. Again, she used lots of toilet paper to clean her red bag. Again, she saved the purse.

She relayed this story to me today and appeared to feel badly at revealing something so embarrassing. I hope she will realize what a great blessing this story is to me. First, I had a great belly laugh over this. I mean, how many people wash their purse when they go to the ladies room? That’s just funny! Second, I was encouraged. It’s so comforting to see other people survive the silly, yet frustrating, things that happen to them. If they can make it through, I can, too.  Finally, it gave me a reason to go buy a red purse. I can do “powerful” so long as my stupidity is still normal.

~Temerity Dowell