My kingdom for a cough drop

A few days ago, I became the most despised person in a seminar. I couldn’t keep quiet. Every few seconds, I’d bark out a cough that sounded like a seal with bronchitis. These coughs rattled my soul and squeezed my bladder.

After a while, the woman next to me reached into her roomy purse. I assumed she was looking for a dead fish to stuff into my mouth. Frankly, I was willing to swallow a slimy carp if that would stop the coughing.

She lifted her hand. I winced and closed my eyes. Nothing happened. When I finally peered through one watering eye, I found a miracle in front of me: a cough drop. That little cough drop taught me a big lesson: I need a roomy purse that can hold just-in-case stuff that’ll rescue me from tough situations.

Up until now, I’ve always been a small purse kind of gal. In middle school and high school, a purse was too much to carry along with my books, my gym bag, my flute. In college, my backpack became my purse, but all I really needed was my room key and cafeteria meal ticket. As an adult, I always thought big purses were too much trouble, too heavy, too bulky. But jeez, a roomy purse can hold tissues and snacks and hairbands and Band-Aids and pain reliever and cough drops and all the stuff you – or a friend – might need.

So, I’m changing my tune. I’m gonna buy a big purse as soon as this stupid cough goes away.