Urbanites should heavy workday load
When did we become pack horses? During the past several weeks my duties as a reporter have taken me daily to the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, where I have been astonished at the number of people who have taken on characteristics of beasts of burden. Just what is carried in those backpacks, bags, oversized purses, satchels and assorted forms of urban luggage? Have those briefcases, suitcases and sample cases evolved into essentials of modern life?
I admit to being a people watcher. What people wear, hairstyles, make up, and coordination of shoes with dress, never fail to undergo my scrutiny.
My last several treks to the city have been dominated, however, by amazement at what the businessperson, clerk, salesman, lawyer, student or traveler is carrying, toting, pulling, lugging or dragging down the street. Many do not settle for just one package, briefcase or purse. They have two, three and maybe four.
One wonders how they manage? How many adjustments must the chiropractor administer to maintain the ability to carry?
Surely this cannot be good for physical health. It can’t be advisable to hoist these burdens to the shoulders and backs or to dangle them from one’s hands.
A case in point: I spotted a lady juggling a hot cup of coffee, thrusting a large purse over her shoulder, while delicately balancing a knapsack on her back. The need to have a hot caffeine-laden beverage in the early morning hours is indisputable, as is holder to carry make-up for repair of tired, afternoon eyes, shiny noses and pale lips. But besides a purse, wallet or other repository for currency, what else needs to be hauled?
And what was that man thinking when he left for work with his suitcase in tow? Did he anticipate the grand prize trip to the Caribbean from his favorite radio station? Did his rolling leather companion hold his swimsuit, shorts and his favorite Hawaiian shirt, just in case his travel fortunes changed suddenly?
Have we become a society that anticipates every situation and prepares for it? What price, compulsion?
The young man leaning against the courthouse with a cellular telephone in each hand was conducting alternating conversations. Hello, New York, Buy! Hello, Chicago, Sell! (Buy or sell what?) Why must he have two mobile phones?
It was tiring just to watch a young woman cross the street toting a briefcase and purse, juggling a trendy latte and faithfully carting a half-dozen doughnuts to her co-workers as she made her way to work.
Then, there were the two thirty-something friends, porting the fruits of lunch hour shopping labors, who toted bulging department store bags while a knapsack hung from the back of one and a soft-sided briefcase draped the side of the other. They struggled to the bus stop under the burden of their loads. Would each pay for an extra seat to accommodate their baggage?
It is foreboding that this overwhelming need to carry things is not limited to members of the working and leisure classes. Seemingly, it extends to those just out of diapers. Two young boys dressed in similar outfits carried similar backpacks laden with artwork from their pre-school. Already embarked upon the pack-horse track, it came as no surprise that this next generation was being groomed to become beasts of burden.
Which left me wondering if I need to buy some more stuff to carry around.
Patty Shultz is a Herald-Standard staff writer. E-mail: pshultz@heraldstandard.com.