Goodbye Little Black Bag

In December 2004, when I was still in Sao Paulo, I purchased a little black bag (LBB). I bought it in a popular [in the Latin sense] street market a couple of blocks behind my house and paid a hefty R$10 [CAN$4.50 at the time] for it. It was acquired just prior to heading to Rio for our New Years Adventure and I ultimately chose it because of its i) size [small, but big enough for a travel guide or book as I later discovered]; ii) discreteness [black and unadorned]; iii) carryability [like a little knapsack]; and iv) price [ridiculously cheap and obviously so]. In other words, it was bought to be stolen. Should I suffer the misfortune of being robbed, I would not mourn my bag. Its carefully selected contents and my mental health perhaps, but not the bag. There would be no sentimental attachments.

In April 2006, my little black bag met its destiny. In Rio, also as predicted, although three trips later. Since then, I have been scouring the markets of Recife [and Sao Paulo when I was there in September] for a new LBB, with no luck at all. Have little knapsack-type purses/bags gone totally out of style? Was I just lucky the first time around? Am I looking in the wrong places? I've even stepped up my search to "real" bag stores in malls, willing to pay the premium. Still no luck! I admit that I did find two LBBs in Recife's Centro, but they were not big enough for my Quatro Rodas -- the Brazilian Guide book that no self-loving person should ever be without -- or even a paperback novel. They failed the test. My second theory [in opposition to the it's-simply-out-of-style theory] is that I no longer need the services of a small, discreet, carryable and cheap LBB. Perhaps I can have confidence that my current selections of bags and I will happily live out our time together. Here's hoping!