August 8, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. The Blue Bag.

When I leave Nova Scotia, I go to Texas to spend 10 days with David and Suzanne and the girls in San Antonio. The volleyball season will be in full swing so we will not be going to the late. As all my clothes are at the lake house, I planned ahead and brought a few clothes and left them with David and Suzanne in my bedroom. I carried my clothes in a blue sports bag with a Merrill Lynch logo on both sides. I used that bag for years when I played tennis. My raccquet and balls were kept in the closet ready for my next game or drill. Over the years it got beaten up but was still in good enough shape to bring some of my belongings from the farm to the lake house. I fount it on the corner of my closet. I was the perfect size for my clothes. Last week my friend Sara Lou sent me a picture of her bag. Last week, she had used the bag for carrying linens to and fro to the family reunion at their cabin in North Carolina. It looks pristine with the Merrill Lynch logo shining bright. Every time she uses it she thinks of me and she laughs with happy memories. We were given those bags she thinks in 1984 in Aruba as a welcome gift when the top agents were taken for a trip. When Merrill Lynch first bought Snider Bros. they treated agents the same as stock brokers. The first trip for top producers was to Hawaii and was lavish. The next one was to Aruba where we were given those blue bags. The powers that be learned quickly and the trips became less expensive but were still good. So Sara Lou and I are still using those blue bags after all those years. And we both smile and laugh about all the happy memories.