This morning, one of the cattle on the subway had a clear backpack. I wondered what it was for. The first thing I thought of is she's displaying what she has to potential muggers, which I thought was nice. It'd keep muggers from assaulting people who really don't have anything worth stealing. "Hand over your -- oh, sorry, didn't see that all you had was a notebook and some lip gloss."

Then I thought that clear backpacks are probably for people like me. Sometimes, when I'm carrying something in my bag, I'll panic because I don't know if it's still there. I can't see the sweater I put in there earlier today and I'm pretty sure I've put it in there as a matter of fact I know it's in there but what if it's not and is sitting in that bag by my desk back at work? That's what goes through my head. I just have to check and see if it still exists. It's like I'm playing peek-a-boo and I'm the infant. I can't see the sweater any more -- it must be gone! Oh, there it is. Oh no, it's gone again! Ah, there it is.

I'm not certain if it's just me being forgetful, or perhaps there's an old memory rattling around my head of me forgetting Something Important that makes me want to recheck, or if it's just some sort of obsessive-compulsive behavior thing I've picked up along the way.

-Faux "I wonder if Schrodinger went through this with his cat?" Pas