While unpacking our unaccompanied baggage, I uncovered my high school identification card. A security measure that my high school instituted after the Columbine shooting and a copycat threat called into a local police audio station, a common “joke” was that the IDs’ sole use was to identify the bodies. Dark.
Long Beach High School students were required to have these on their person. Not necessarily to wear. Teachers would check for identification every block; punishment for forgetting the ID was a 30 minute after school detention. The day I forgot mine, my first block teacher neglected to do an ID check. My second block teacher forgot to ask until the last three minutes of class. In a stroke of genius, I requested to be excused to the restroom before she could resume the check. I retreated to the bathroom for the remainder of the block only to scurry back to class and collect my belongings after the bell rang.
Minutiae now, but I am certain after school detention would not be my scene.
One of the items I ran back to collect was my Gap side sling backpack. If you do not know what I am talking about, let me paint a picture: it was a asymmetrical shape, came in black, gun metal, or red nylon, one strap that kind of gave it the shape of a tennis racquet, with a velcro fastened compartment the perfect size for a Nokia cell phone.
I am ready for this Gap backpack to make a comeback. It was surprisingly comfortable to wear even when loaded with books. It was designed with some superior engineering, that is for damn sure.
As long as we are we going down a Gap throwback spiral, who else remembers Anorak in a Sack? {Google Image search “Gap anorak in a sack” for photos.} It was a hooded pullover windbreaker with a kangaroo pouch in which the windbreaker could be zipped and stored. The Anorak was available in silver, black, navy, red, and forest green and later released in colorblocked colorways, and if I recall correctly, all had reflective tape trim. A unisex style, Anorak in a Sack was the outerwear item to have in eighth grade.
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