Chuck loves having pockets. Lots of them. The more pockets he has the better. The more pockets he has, the more places there are to put all the things he needs to take with him whenever he goes somewhere. So he considers pockets to be pretty indispensable. And he never leaves home without some.

Now that it's June and it's becoming warmer, Chuck has only one lightweight black vest to wear. This vest isn't one of Chuck's favorites. Far from it. This vest has only two pockets.

But in summer it's the only lightweight black vest he has. So he makes do with it. Even though Chuck finds two pockets very inconvenient. His money goes in one pocket, and his credit cards go in the other. So there's no place left for his keys.

"How about your pants pocket?" I suggested.

"I like to carry my possessions in the vicinity of my chest," Chuck told me. Not in his pants. "Besides," he said, "the keys make a bulge." I guess Chuck doesn't want a bulge in his pants. Not in the back pocket, anyway.

In the spring, Chuck can wear a vest that he likes much better. A tan one. With lots more pockets.

This tan vest has outside pockets and inside pockets, Velcro pockets and zippered pockets. And it has secret pockets somewhere inside the inside pockets. These secret pockets are really secret. I had a lot of trouble with the secret pockets. When Chuck was in the hospital, he wanted his money and credit cards and license and keys. Which were all in his vest. Somewhere in the pockets. But there were so many pockets that I found it very difficult to find anything. I was able to locate the money. I was able to find the credit cards, too. And after searching for a long time, I was even able to find the license. But I never could get to the keys. I knew where they were. Because of the bulge. But I just couldn't find the opening to the secret pocket inside the inside pocket. So Chuck had to wait to get his keys until Jim came in from Prague. Jim is more logical than I am. So the secret pockets weren't too secret for Jim.

Chuck's favorite vest is a vest with at least fifty pockets. Maybe even a hundred. It's impossible to know how many pockets this vest has. Because there are so many pockets everywhere you look. There are pockets at the top and at the bottom, in the front and in the back, and on the outside and the inside. And every pocket has at least one other pocket inside it. Sometimes even two.

So when you wear this vest, no matter how many things you carry, it's impossible to run out of pockets. There's a pocket for everything, and everything has its own pocket. Chuck organizes these pockets very well. With so many pockets, you have to. There are bills in one pocket. Loose change is in another. Keys are in one pocket. His license and wallet in another. Pens and pencils have a separate pocket. So do newspaper articles. Papers and magazines. Pads and books. Also his electronic organizer. Everything has a pocket. If it rains, there's even a pocket to carry an umbrella for me. There are so many pockets that some pockets stay empty. It's hard to find that many things to carry. Even for Chuck.

I know that Chuck considers it an advantage to have this many pockets. But I'm not so sure. His vest does get awfully heavy. It gets so heavy that I can hardly lift it. It gets so heavy that I wonder how he can even lift it. Much less wear it. And once he puts it on, he can't take it off, either. Because if he did, something might be stolen from one of the pockets. And almost everything he owns is there. In a pocket.

There can be other disadvantages as well. Like misplacing something. We were once touring with Jim and Jitka outside Boston at the House of Seven Gables. After Chuck paid our admission, the tour guide asked for the tickets. "They're in one of my pockets," Chuck told her. But he couldn't remember which one. And he was wearing the vest with a hundred pockets. With so many pockets, it could take a very long time to find. In fact, I didn't see how he could find them before the tour started. Much less ended. But we were lucky. He did.

Chuck doesn't let any of this bother him. Nothing changes the way he feels about pockets. Pockets provide a place for everything he needs. So he still finds them indispensable. And he never leaves home without them.

And his favorite vest is still the vest with at least fifty pockets. Maybe even a hundred.

June, 1997
BB