Chapter Two: The Target Bags

For a long while, I would pass through the back of Target just to stop and stare at the $19 canvas bags which looked very similar to Jack's bag. The only problem was that they were a great deal smaller, and included this panel of different outside pockets which were basically useless for storing guns, C4, or walkie-talkies, not to mention a palm pilot, pens, or a pad of paper.

All the same, I visited the “Wall of Bags” during trips to the Targets in Hartland, Mount Pleasant, Okemos, and Midland, but never purchased a single one. I admit that there were days when I was very tempted, and other times when I was both tempted and carried the money. Yet, I still resisted the allure of the bags.

It helped that I was already carrying a bag which had been given to me by my friend, Louie. It was really Louie who got me started with the “Man Bag” thing. He gave me his old brown bag after he replaced it with a new one. I didn't discover the Jack Bauer styled canvas bags until after I had gotten my second one.

The second bag was both bigger than my first one and more colorful. My original bag was mostly brown while the new one was beige-and-green. I enjoyed its size, but missed the multiple compartments offered by the brown one. The brown bag also used magnets to help hold the flap in place, whereas the flap on the new one was often flapping around. So, the canvas bags looked better but still didn't have the capacity of my previous bags.

However, my tale of the Man Purse begins before “24,” and even before I ever thought about carrying a bag. Well, on second thought, it wasn't before “24” was on the air, but did start before I began watching it on a regular basis.