I have a document that records the fact that I crossed the equator in an Argentine merchant marine ship, the Rio Aguapey (on my way back from Buenos Aires with Veracruz as my destination) on 11 December 1966. By January of 1967 I was rudderless at see with shoulder-length hair.
Somehow in Veracruz I found out about the hippies. I
decided to become one (minus the drugs). I went to San Francisco to the
Haight/Ashbury district and stayed with my friend Robert Hijar. The folks on
the bottom floor, avid pot smokers, did not want to try my Argentine mate as
they said it looked addictive. I began to read Ramparts Magazine.
While in San Francisco I managed to see Jefferson Airplane and buy a little ceramic peace sign for my lapel.
By December of the year I was teaching English in Mexico City ( I was told to cut my hair) and at the school I met my Rosemary. We were married in February 1968.
At the time there was rampant machismo in the city. Men
never carried umbrellas when it rained as this was deemed effeminate. I decided to
start using a purse. All my friends made fun of me. The said I was from "el otro lado" (the other side).
For most of 2022 and 2021 I have worn around my neck a Herschel case where I store my wallet, sunglasses, business cards, a marking pen and my face mask is clipped to it. The case is not large enough to accommodate my phone. This presents a problem of forgetting it when I leave the house. My house and car keys I clip in a fob on my belt loop.
Rosemary had exquisite taste for clothing and she had a keen love for Italian shoes and purses. She did buy them also in Buenos Aires to my delight.
I have no idea what is going to happen to Rosemary’s collections of her purses. I thought of giving a couple to my granddaughters but it seems that using purses is not in fashion with them.
When I spotted the Francesco Biasia black leather purse I knew what I was going to do with it. It is large enough not only for my phone, but if I remove the lens from my Fuji X-E3 they fit just right. And finally I can also put in my little note book in which I do my best to emulate Rosemary’s talent for organization.
