Do you remember when your billfold or wallet was an incredibly important storage device? And not just for men. Women relied on their version as well. It kept cash, credit cards, receipts, family photos and a variety of notes. Of course, too much stuff could end up in a Costanza explosion, so moderation and occasional clean-outs were key. In time, we had to replace our wallets due to wear and tear, and breaking in new ones wasn’t pleasant.

The popularity of cell phone cameras with seemingly endless storage has all but eliminated the need to keep hard copies of photos in a wallet. Even the phrase “wallet-size” photos is from days gone by. I used to have a variety of photos in my wallet. Today? None. On my phone? Too many to count.

I still keep my credit card receipts in my wallet, although I am not sure why. In the old days, I would save them and cross-check with my credit card statements that came in the mail to make sure all the charges were correct. Now I hand them over to my wife, who does our bill-paying online, and she says, “What do you want me to do with these?” For those of you who do keep receipts like I do, have you noticed the disappearing ink? I don’t think the blank receipts would do me much good if I ever needed them anyway.

I continue to store my credit cards in my wallet, but I seem to use them less and less. The gas station is a common place for me to swipe, but for other purchases, I seem to be ordering through apps or online purchases that have my credit cards stored more often than not. It concerns me, but I am doing it more and more.

And finally, cash. Yes, good, old-fashioned cash. I continue to love it and use it, as I don’t want to give Big Tech any more of my data than they already have. Strangely, I still have this odd fetish with cash, too, as I turn all my bills the same way and put them in order by the bill size. Admittedly, I don’t carry much cash, but I do like to have enough to buy lunch when I need to.

We most all would admit that we store more and more of our necessary items on our phones today rather than places like billfolds or wallets. I just have to wonder if we are setting ourselves up for our phones to have a Costanza explosion, too. That won’t be pretty.

How about you? What kind of “stuff” do you still keep in your wallets or billfolds?

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

See Shane Goodman's previous columns here.

POLITICAL MERCURY

The dehumanizing formula of a school shooting

By Douglas Burns

We were all in the formula, the algorithm of horror that is a modern school shooting. Death for some, dehumanization for others.

In covering the Perry school shootings Jan. 4, what struck me was the hope-stealing realization that so many students and families seemed prepared for their roles.

The students I talked with, the parents, all seasoned in the last decades of school violence across the nation, had heard the scripts before — just not in their city, their schools. It is collective marination in madness. They’ve been coached in catastrophe through consumption of hundreds of news accounts on shootings.

These celebrities were born on this date: Adam Clayton, Annabeth Gish, Candi Staton, Coco Gauff, Common, Dana Delany, Danny Masterson, Emile Hirsch, Tristan Thompson, Kaya Scodelario, Noel Fisher, William H. Macy, Harry Melling

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

The answer to yesterday's riddle:

What color is a belch? BURPLE! - Clare Baker, Gail Tomlinson, Rex Post. Or Black - like smoke belching from a chimney! - Carolyn Rogers

Today's riddle

What did the bleu cheese receive when it won the cheesy Olympics?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

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