Here comes a medium length story.

When I was 16-18, I was homeless. I lived out of a blue Greatland backpack and slept in an abandoned shack in a small Minnesota town for two years.

Since then I've come a long way. I'm 30 now. I live a fairly normal life. Job, house, you know. Normal life stuff. I'm not rich by any stretch, but I've come so far from the life of that 16 year old boy that I can barely recognize myself some mornings.

I still have that backpack. It's been everywhere with me. It's seen eight music festivals, two oceans (it will see the Arctic yet), almost half the states in the union, two riots, four time zones. It's been tear gassed, run over, dropped out a third story window, and stolen. It's been in two car accidents, both of which should have killed me.

There are some ribbons and strings and stuff tied to the top loop, remnants of birthday balloons long past and reminders of things long since forgotten. It is covered in signatures that I got from people I met at Woodstock '99, faded almost entirely beyond recognition. It has never been washed and it never will be. The railroad spike I used to carry around for protection and good luck is still in the bottom pocket. The weight comforts me. Sometimes I take it out and turn it over in my hands and look at it, and remember. I replaced the zippers and the interior lining last year, spending easily twice as much as the backpack cost, and it was worth every penny.

It comes to work with me every single day, and has throughout my adult life. I get odd looks on the bus sometimes, and it probably looks awfully weird that a thirty year old guy in a suit is hauling around a filthy blue backpack. Once, a few years ago, someone actually tried to give me money.

Fuck 'em though. It's a piece of me, and I don't feel right without it. It is a constant reminder that whatever petty little hell is breaking loose at any given time, nothing I will conceivably do or experience today will truly be hard. I've seen things normal people never see, and I've come back to tell the tale. It's an indestructible talisman, and as long as I carry it, I'm indestructible too.

Here it is.