Don’t Forget Your … Through The Ages

This could have been a fairly dull prompt, but thinking laterally I thought it would be fun to look at that question in terms of physical objects and from the perspective of various times in my life.

When I was at primary school I was what was then called a latch key kid which meant I didn’t always have my parents at home when I got back from school as they were both working. So, it was vital to have my front door key at all times. The problem was that I was apt to forget it on occasions, well semi-regularly actually, and that meant I was outside until one of my parents returned. No one, including me, understood why it wasn’t an automatic thing to remember but I since found out it comes from my dyspraxia which interferes with your organisation and your short term memory.

Fast forward to the mid teens and I always had to carry a pound for my bus fare to school – 50p each way. My parents had to pay for this because we lived one house away from the boundary of free bus travel! So, I got £5 a week to cover my fares. Very luckily for me, the drivers and conductors almost never checked the passes because everyone on the bus had one. I think I paid about half a dozen fares in 7 years!! The rest went to things like my two complete sticker albums Football 78 & 79, or my large singles collection. To be honest it was the only positive thing that ever came out of going to that awful school.

I got used to carrying cards in my late teens and early 20s. First was my ID card for the RAF which I never forgot because you would be on a military charge if you didn’t have it. Basic training was where so much changed for me as I reflected on in my blog post about my time in the service. Next was my Staffordshire Polytechnic student card without which I couldn’t get money off things or get into the library.

Since then, wallets became my must carry but have given way to card holders and phones in modern life. The only thing that has been a constant since those early days is my key. These days I never forget it because it’s always the last thing I check before leaving the house!