Saturday, January 13, 2018

A Kinda/Sorta Personal "Short Shorts" Post


1. The above photo is of that little fifth pocket that's in most pairs of jeans. You know, that weird little pocket-in-a-pocket. But do you know what it's called, and why it's there?

Back in the late 1800s, most men carried a pocket watch, and they usually kept it in either their waistcoat pockets, or their vest pockets. Well, when hard-working cowboys did that -- and keep in mind that there were a lot of cowboys back then, as opposed to now -- the watches tended to get broken. The Levi Strauss company, makers of -- duh! -- Levi's jeans, created that extra pocket specifically for pocket watches, and called it, predictably, a "watch pocket".

Nowadays, not a lot of people carry pocket watches, preferring a wristwatch if they have a watch at all. (I don't. I just use my cell phone when I want to know the time.)

So, what do I use my watch pocket for?

I use my watch pocket to hold a tiny bottle of nitroglycerin tablets, which I've carried with me almost every day since my heart attack four years ago.


What do you use yours for?

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2. And speaking of cell phones, which I was, kinda/sorta...

The above photo of a cell phone looks very much like my own cell phone. In fact, the above photo looks exactly like my cell phone. Same brand, same model, etc.

I've had a few people -- mostly people working for AT&T -- suggest that I upgrade to a better -- in other words, pricier -- model. I'd rather not. I like the one I have.

The only thing about this model that I don't like is that whenever I text or compose an email, I have to hit each key a specified amount of time to get a specific letter. You know the drill, right? Hit the "2" key once for "A", twice for "B", and so on. And if I want to get two letters that are on the same key, I have to pause for a bit so the phone will "know" that I want an "A" (one tap) followed by a "B" (two taps) instead of a "C" (one tap plus two taps equals three taps)! Sheesh!!!

Therefore, words like "baby," "moon," "definition," "sidebar," "money," "ended," "about," "high," and many, many more like those are a nightmare to write!

In fact, the word "nightmare" is a nightmare, too!

So, I always have to proofread my texts and emails to make sure I've paused long enough, otherwise I'll have results like the day I went to add the name "Mark Murphy" to my address book, and hit the "7" key twice, too quickly, when I wanted an "R" and a "P," and came up with "Mark Mushy".

As it happened, when I told Mark about the mistake, he asked me to keep it that way. He has a strange sense of humor. He and I get along well, as you may have guessed.

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3. I'm not really expecting any comments on this post, despite the fact that I asked a question in #1. (Usually when I do that, the question gets ignored.) Having said that, a post which I expect nobody to comment about is invariably the type of post which gets, like, eight million comments! We'll see.

Thanks for your time.

16 comments:

  1. I think that little pocket is now a signature pocket on jeans. I haven't really used it for much of anything. I did, however, know it was for a pocket watch.

    I had a phone like that once, but moved to the iPhone. Mine is an older version, but works fine. I feel there is no need to upgrade at this point in time.

    Have a nice weekend SilverFox!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I don't want to upgrade just to make AT&T richer.

      Delete
    2. I certainly hope you won’t need those pills. Stay Healthy Silver Fox

      Delete
  2. I sometimes stick a usb stick in that pocket if I think I'll need it. I HATE texting on those phones, not that I like texting much anyway, but they are a pain in the arse. Work just gave me a crummy flip phone. And stupid cellphone company is like "we'll give you 150 bucks off, what a deal" when you have to pay another 30 bucks a month for a stupid phone. No way I pay over 100 bucks a month for some damn phone.

    Here's comment #2, only 7,999,998 to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, since I plan to answer each comment, I only need somewhat less than four million from my readers.

      Delete
  3. Uh huh! I see what you're doing! Trawling for comments. Well, it worked. Here's comment #3. Oh, and I tend to use my watch pocket for quarters for the laundromat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I put my laundry quarters in a prescription bottle (from which I've removed the label, of course). Then I can't fit them in my watch pocket.

      Delete
  4. I didn't know that. I don't use the watch pocket. It's too easy for keys or change to pop out of that small space.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  5. The only thing I have small enough for that pocket is my car key, but it makes taking my smart phone out of the other pocket a hassle. Cue the first world problems. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have too many keys on my key ring (three) for it to fit in my watch pocket.

      Delete
  6. Don't really use that pocket. Too tiny for most things. Carry everything in handbags in one unholy mess anyways, not an intensive pocket user :)

    2 illustrates 'Murphy's Law' in the most deliciously serendipitous way. Or was that deliberate? I resist all gadget changes tooth and nail, but sadly, they still overtake, and overwhelm, me. 3 illustrates something too, only I can't quite put my finger on it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't automatically resist change (aka "progress"), nor do I have difficulty adapting to new technologies (once I decide I want to, that is). What I do resist is when I feel that I'm being pressured to change just so someone else can make more money!

      Delete
  7. I typically use that pocket for my key fob when I'm at my day job. That way I don't have to carry my entire set of house and car keys just to make sure I can open a few doors.

    As a woman, I can tell you that however tiny that pocket is, it's still better than the fake ones that seem so prevalent these days on women's pants. I don't give a darn about whether the front of my jeans or slacks are flat or not—spoiler alert, they're not, because my stomach isn't flat—so I don't need fake pockets to keep me from putting things in them. Grr.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fake pockets always seemed like such a waste to me.

      Delete

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