i pass through the hospital as a short cut from school to the new england medical center t station. it's a blur of scrubs and revolving doors and an intersection of cars and pedestrians that rarely follow the rules. as i revolved out the last door to the street, i spotted something very familiar. a purse of robin egg blue, orange, yellow and avocado...tucked under the arm of a woman who was about the age of my mom. i don't see a lot of duct tape purses on the streets. i never really have. occasionally i see a duct tape wallet pulled from a pocket, but to see a real, live duct tape purse...never before. i knew right away that it wasn't one of mine and that it looked fairly well constructed. i followed the woman through the hospital and out through the curb. she was in a hurry and i was hot on her tails! i risked life and limb to cross the street against the light to stay afloat with her. she descended into the t station and we both barely made the train. she was practically sprinting to the front end of the station and i was so curious to ask her about her bag that i kept up with her. i wonder if people know that they are being followed? she sure didn't seem to! the train pulled up right as we stopped on the platform and we both piled inside, taking up space standing next to each other on the crowded train. i smiled, and asked her where she got her bag. a conversation ensued. she was so lovely and happy to talk about her bag. she bought it at the pike place market in seattle, along with a wallet for her husband. it was one of the better crafted duct tape bags i have seen (cough, second to mine, of course) but it lacked any kind of closure on the front flap...which she listed as her major complaint. anyhow, it was a fun and energizing interaction to have at dusk after a long and draining (but still good) day. duct tape, hoorah!