Smile Politely

What’s in your bag, C-U?

Sam Logan

The things we carry throughout the day say a lot about us. I don’t know that they say anything significant other than you might have been getting a cold recently, prefer a particular brand of gum, or use an android phone. Nonetheless, there is a lot to learn about someone.

Some of the participants carried very little, whereas others carried enough to start a small bomb shelter. Anyway, a big thanks to everyone that opened up their pockets — and their lives — for me to root through and photograph. Enjoy. 

Rod Sickler: local salon owner, event producers and musician

  1. iPhone
  2. “Maybe you touched your genitals” hand sanitizer 
  3. Chap stick
  4. Keys to his Toyota 
  5. Listerine spray, Altoids and mints
  6. Bandaging from a recent injury during Red Hot Winter
  7. More hand sanitizer 
  8. More bandaging
  9. Loose cash
  10. Receipts
  11. Tie clip
  12. Halls
  13. Money clip/wallet combo

Don Gerard: Champaign Mayor, Facilities Manager at U of I

  1. Old school license 
  2. Parking meter money
  3. 50 Diamonds pin, a U of I student group
  4. Dentine Ice
  5. Samsung phone
  6. Leather bifold wallet
  7. Mayoral badge
  8. Vincent’s card
  9. Cash
  10. iCard
  11. Burts Beeswax Vanilla Bean chapstick 
  12. Need/want
  13. “Gerard for Mayor” swag

Jennifer Roscoe: Journalist, TV anchor/personality at WCIA

  1. Leopard print bag
  2. Stunner shades
  3. Workout headbands
  4. Wallet
  5. iPhone 5s
  6. Cuties, “I get really hungry”
  7. Seven Saints receipt
  8. Smoky Bones coupon
  9. Jewelry
  10. Cinnamon Trident gum (“always”) and contacts
  11. Kiwanas Club calendar and pen, standard pen, q-tips, coupons
  12. Watch

Larry Kanfer: photographer, gallery owner

  1. Canon 1DX Mark III, telephoto 20-300mm
  2. iPad mini, “I put my images on here”
  3. Bottled water, “a lot of times for a photo I go hike for a bit”
  4. Light meter
  5. GoPro, hand warmers “cameras have to be warm, it’s for my camera, not me”
  6. Keys
  7. iPhone 6
  8. ND Filters for the lens
  9. Headphones, “I listen to all sorts of stuff, I was a DJ in the seventies”
  10. Flashlight, “for when I go photograph at night”
  11. Flash
  12. Extra camera battery
  13. Memory cards, bubble levels
  14. SD card transfer to iPad
  15. Ibuprofen, hand wipes

Jeff Brandt: owner and operator of Exile on Main

  1. Toyota keys, Binny’s rewards card, guitar keychain
  2. iPhone with a message from Isaac Arms
  3. Trifold, black, leather wallet

Sara Hudson: owner and operator of Dandelion 

  1. Flower backpack
  2. buzz magazine
  3. Wallet
  4. Candy Orange slices
  5. Dandelion gift cards 
  6. Car keys, wipe, star button
  7. Krannert pamphlet 
  8. Gum, face oil wipe, cash for change
  9. Makeup
  10. Samsung phone
  11. Crucifix 

Mike Ingram: DJ, musician, journalist

  1. Old school iPod 
  2. Guitar picks
  3. Jeep keys
  4. Lighter
  5. Bifold red leather wallet
  6. Samsung phone
  7. HP laptop
  8. External hard drive 
  9. Kind bar and Fiber One cookie
  10. Riccola cough drops
  11. Flashlight 
  12. Hand sanitizer, Burt’s Beeswax, Visine, Advil
  13. Herbal tea, Hello Kitty band aids, earplugs, floss
  14. Guitar strings, 9v batteries
  15. Fisherman’s Friend throat lozenge
  16. Screwdriver
  17. Coffee canister
  18. Sharpies

Dr. Tom Franzen: family physician

  1. Watch
  2. Visconti pen, Italian
  3. Nissan 370z 
  4. Cubs keychain
  5. Secure ID for computer
  6. Pager
  7. iPhone 6
  8. Monogrammed money clip, 29 years old
  9. Burt’s Beeswax, wedding ring “for almost 30 years now”
  10. Stethoscope

Stephanie Snyder: registered nurse, advance practice nursing student

  1. First aid kit
  2. Stethoscope
  3. Chapstick, lipgloss
  4. Planner
  5. iPhone
  6. School notebook, antibiotic therapy guidebook, managing contraceptive pills book
  7. Fitbit
  8. Patient controlled analgesia machine drug loader
  9. Loose change, rewards card, handbag
  10. Employee badge, Kindle Fire
  11. This weeks test material, pens and highlighters
  12. Charger
  13. Sticky notes
  14. Bright Futures Guidebook to child development
  15. Glasses
  16. Stickers, “I am a mom!”
  17. Suture kit

Alan Nudo: President of Robeson’s, Inc., realtor 

  1. Keys
  2. iPhone
  3. Keys to a rental car, “I just got into an accident and had to borrow a car!”
  4. Marquise
  5. Glasses
  6. Apartment keys
  7. Bifold wallet
  8. Pen
  9. Business cards, check
  10. Water cup

Dr. Irfan Ahmad: PhD, Executive Director, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, President of Avicenna Community Health Center

  1. Sticky notes
  2. Vitamin C
  3. Tape measure
  4. Paperclips
  5. Mail
  6. Continuing education materials
  7. Dates, almonds, cough drops
  8. Ibuprofen, Band-Aids, toothbrush and toothpaste
  9. Ever seen a community health center name badge and pamphlet
  10. Business cards
  11. Prayer mat, traditional “miswak” toothbrush
  12. Glasses, receipt from Dubai, bi fold leather wallet
  13. Orbit gum
  14. Prayer beads
  15. Headphones
  16. USB drives, scented oil, more cough drops, key, meter money
  17. Business cards, glasses case
  18. Samsung phone
  19. iPad
  20. More dates
  21. Banana
  22. Lotion and iPad connector

Local barista at Espresso Royale

  1. Hand lotion
  2. Wallet
  3. Make up and pens
  4. Carmax, to do list
  5. Hair tie
  6. “I love my attitude” coin case
  7. 50-cent piece, “I bring it everywhere with me”
  8. Espresso Royale punchcards

Kari Croop: mother of triplets 

  1. Diaper changing station
  2. Leather gloves
  3. Wallet
  4. Diaper and wet wipes
  5. Spare pairs of underwear
  6. Alice in Wonderland pamphlet
  7. Water bottles and mom’s water bottle, “I usually don’t get to drink it, I filled the kids bottles back up with it”
  8. First aid kit
  9. Pink wand, comb, and bib
  10. Sunglasses for everyone
  11. Meter money, padlock, hair accessories
  12. iPod and phone
  13. Make up and toy car
  14. Honda keys
  15. YMCA pass

Leslie Till: English as a second language teacher at Garden Hills Elementary

  1. Unit for bag and teaching but
  2. Loyalty cards
  3. Boardgame piece
  4. Binder clips
  5. Cocoas kitten book for teaching
  6. Drawings to teach language, crayon, keys, and body spray
  7. Pens and more pens
  8. E-cigarette, wallet
  9. Hairpin, magnet, I am, boardgame piece
  10. Tea, soccer, cough drop
  11. “I love you” drawing from a student
  12. Books
  13. Picture dictionary, checkbook, hair tie
  14. Samsung phone with a picture of her boyfriend has the background
  15. Lord of the Rings DVD, johns pipe shop tobacco
  16. Pomegranate candy, The Language Instinct book for fun reading
  17. Spoons, Alice in Wonderland

Charlie Ramshaw: Owner and operator of Ram Clean cleaning company

  1. Duckhunting wallet
  2. Two dollar bill
  3. Cracked iPhone 6+ with a text message about more snow
  4. Jawbone-UP
  5. Business cards
  6. Unlabeled chapstick
  7. Car keys

Jason James: Property Maintenance Specialist at Ramshaw Real Estate 

  1. Car keys
  2. Chapstick
  3. Big Jay 17 Swiss army knife, “My kids got me this knife, 17 is my work number”
  4. By fold leather wallet
  5. 50-cent piece, “my mother gave me about 20 years ago I carry with me every day”
  6. iPhone with Dallas Cowboys OtterBox

Look for the #WhatsInYourBagCU opon social medias and use it to join in the fun!

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