Donny's Bag

This is Donny's trusty bag. In off-seasons it travels with him across the country on his burlesque tours, in more touristy times it rides the train from his Brooklyn apartment to the glittery lights of Times Square where Donny sometimes works as a sidewalk barker for Ripley's Believe It Or Not. And of course from Memorial Day to Labor Day it spends many long afternoons resting in the sideshow dressing room at Coney Island (on the floor next to the snake's tank to be exact) while Donny runs the ten-in-one for the constantly revolving crowds.

It also comes home with him on the holidays. He packs light. Spare socks in one side pocket, spare undies in the other. One pair of skinny jeans inside, rotating out with the pair he wears. The same system with his button-up shirts, one white, one chambray. And a couple wife beaters for good measure.

When his tour came through Oklahoma, he showed off a smaller companion leather sort of dopp kit bag that matches this bigger saddle-style-backpack one. He was very proud of it. I was like "um, Donny, are you going to do something real with your money, or are you just going to keep buying bags?" Kathleen thought this was hilarious. I think it hurt Donny's feelings a little. I was halfway through my second ungodly strong vodka tonic, so I am absolved.

Lastly it comes with this odd white thingamabob.

Which actually isn't strange at all. It's kind of sweet. It's a viewfinder. The picture inside? That's Anna. Donny's "girl." Wowsa, right? You don't know the half of it. But this post is about traveling light, so Anna tales must wait for another day (and for me to be sure that she doesn't mind getting the Thomas treatment, i.e. telling all to anyone who'll listen.)

So in the meantime, like Donny's spare socks, just know she travels with him wherever he goes.