Hand baggage

"Every time I read an sms from my daughter, it's like solving a cryptic clue!"

All those jokes about women and their handbags...

They carry their lives with them; “A hundred compartments, and they still misplace their keys...”

Ha-ha, very funny...

Guess what?

Ever since techno-wizards went into creative overdrive, inventing new must-have gizmos every day, gender equality’s been given another twist.

Bags.

Some hapless males, used to carrying their entire lives in slim-ish wallets, are now considering ‘man purses’.

Not backpacks.

Purses!

Bound to happen.

Cellphones, Smart phones, Blackberrys, the iPhone, Kindle, iPad, iPod, Laptops... the number of things a person lugs around these days is amazing. Even kids aren’t spared, with their Gameboys, PSP, DS ... whatever.

Ergo everyone, regardless of age or sex, needs receptacles to carry all these weapons of endless connectivity around.

Now, you’ve always known how important bags are, never having bought into all that ‘Who steals my purse steals trash' stuff.

So you can’t help grinning just a bit. After years of being the Ones-With-The-Bags, handling every emergency from safety pins to the dreaded “Ma, do you have my school fees receipt ... saw you putting it in your bag...” it’s nice to see some of the ‘other halves’ going “Where’s my bag?” for a change.

More power to equality – especially when it helps you prove a point.