A list of things every man needs to carry on his person, every day.
A pocket knife.
I am shocked at the number of men whom do not carry a pocket knife today. The folding pocket knife, or pen knife comes in a myriad of sizes, colors and purposes. A simple single bladed inexpensive folder will do just fine for what we need it for here on this list. A pocket knife is at the root level of the tool system. It serves duty in more ways than I have room to list here. It can sharpen pencils, cut a seatbelt at an accident scene, clean the dirt from under your nails (in private of course!), open envelopes and packages like a gentleman, used as a screwdriver in an emergency,
used to strip insulation from electrical wires, and on and on. Your pocket knife is a tool, and as such you need to learn to properly care for it, clean, oil, and properly sharpen it. You will soon learn to rely on it and it will become indispensable.
A handkerchief.
The handkerchief is another item that men once carried with them on a daily basis. It is commonly carried folded slightly smaller than the gentleman's back pocket, and carried in the opposite pocket that he carries his billfold, but no portion of the handkerchief should be visible to the public. It's original purpose was hygienic, in that if the gentleman's nose was “running”, the handkerchief is what he used to blow his nose or make himself otherwise presentable to the fairer sex. The handkerchief was not a single use device, but was used as many times as decency allowed the gentleman to present it in public. It was used not unlike a road map, in that it was unfolded and the section of use chosen, refolded, and put away. The fashion in which he did this was never in a chaotic manner, but rather planned out to a personal preference. At home it was simply washed along with the white clothes, folded, and put away in the gentleman's sock drawer.
I carry a handkerchief, but rarely use it for the above reasons. There are many other reasons to carry one, such as, in case you come across a distraught lady in tears, you can offer her your handkerchief for comfort. (NOTE: Ensure said handkerchief has not been used before offering it to the lady!) It can be used as a bandage, a sweat-band, if you carry large handkerchiefs, or worn like a bandit to filter out dust ect., in an emergency situation. (Think 911) It could be tied to a stick to gain the attention of emergency personnel. It can be doused with water and placed on your face to limit burns if you are caught in a building fire.
A writing pen.
If I am wearing a shirt with a pocket, I have a writing pen in it. A gentleman always has a pen to offer to a lady without one at the bank, grocer's, the five and dime, the tailor or any other store. He should be ready to sign report cards that were “forgotten” about until 45 seconds before the school bus arrives Monday morning. He should be ready in case the conversation around him turns to barbecue sauce recipes, or he needs to draw an impromptu map of how to get to the only store in town that sells a decent Pinot Noir. During winter weather the police normally will not come out to investigate a “fender-bender” (Non injury accident), and will instruct the parties to exchange information and fill out a report later. If you aren't the one at fault in that accident, odds are, the one that is, will not have a writing pen.
If you find yourself with nothing to do, and you are just sitting there, practice your handwriting! Neat penmanship will always be taken serious sooner than scribble that looks like a nervous fourth grader's! Our father's had gorgeous handwriting, were taught the Palmer method while most of today's men's handwriting looks like a psychopath wrote it.
A miniature notebook.
Here I'm talking about one of the tiny little 3” x 2” note books that will fit in your wallet. It is great for leaving notes to others, yourself, an unobtrusive grocery list, a love letter to your significant other, or, a plan of action for the search party, which is far easier to understand than a pile of rocks!
A One Hundred Dollar Bill.
Times are kind of tough right now, and I know that a C-note is hard to come by, but whether a 100, a 50, or even a 20 is better than nothing to stash folded up in your wallet. I keep mine in between credit cards in my wallet.
You never know when an emergency will strike, and it will at the most inopportune time, too! The reasons for this emergency stash, or, “E stash” as I call it, could go on beyond the time most people would care to read. A short list might include, but would not be limited to, a fan belt for the car broken down on the freeway, or a taxi ride to the hotel or home from the auto repair shop. Emergency gas and toll money to retrieve a child from a bad situation at college, a friends house, a party, ect.
Even the most prepared family, cars or house for disaster may be met with the immediacy of an incoming emergency such as a hurricane and no cash at the same time. This is when you will have forgotten to fuel the vehicle with fuel, or worse, trying to scrape by with that one quarter tank until payday so that you could send another fifty bucks to the trolls at Master Card! That C-note in my wallet has saved my butt more than once. I fold it up and slip it between cards and forget about it, that is, until disaster.
A cellular telephone.
Carry the phone with you everywhere you go. Most phones today have built in cameras that could be used to create evidence is certain situations, or simply to grab a snap shot of that old friend you've not seen in years. If there were an earthquake, it could be used to expedite rescue if you were trapped under debris. Most cities Emergency plans include making sure cellular service is up for this very reason.
A wrist watch.
The trend of wearing a wrist watch has faded recently. With the advent of cellular telephones which keep a time display, hardly anyone wears a watch these days. In fact, I know people from the Y Gen that don't even own a watch!
In the early 90's I fell for this, “I don't need to wear a watch if I have a cell phone” mentality. One July afternoon while traveling across Arizona Interstate 8 from San Diego to Tuscon, my truck burst a water hose. The alarms ringing in my ear and the dash lit up like the space center in Houston told me I was about to have a very bad day. It was 110 degrees out that day, and my cool spacious truck cab without the life giving air conditioning quickly became an oven in the dessert sun. What I didn't know yet was that the fan belt had broken a very long time ago, and my batteries were all but gone. I used my cell phone to place a call for assistance and noticed the battery indicator had but a single “bar” on it. I wasn't too worried as I know I could just plug my cigarette plug charger into the phone, or so I thought! While waiting on the return call from my company, I entertained myself by playing games on the phone. I had no way of knowing I was all but shooting myself in the foot. Wrapping this all up, I had no phone, no truck lights, had parked off the highway in a hard to see place and no way of telling the world where I was. Worst of all, I didn't know what time it was. That was the most disorienting thing of all. I lost all track of time and was it the middle of the night or morning? Where I was there was little to no traffic. It was the next afternoon before the tow truck finally found my truck, but not me. I had started walking, but because I wasn't there to give the guy permission to hook up, he couldn't tow my truck. It was a very bad experience that could have turned out much worse than it did. What it did was teach me many invaluable lessons that I have never forgotten, one of which, is to always wear a wristwatch!
This is not a complete list, and there are more that I carry. What are things that you carry every day?
Next time we will discuss what emergency items a man should have in every car and truck he drives.
A hand made "bug out" kit.
Thank for reading!
Originally seen on The Art of Manliness
