What’s in your backpack?

We each carry a tote bag, backpack, messenger bag, or briefcase.

Little kids have Thomas the Tank Engine ones. There’s Hello Kitty ones too. There’s a bag for every taste, Nike, North Face, L.L. Bean, and rugged outdoor brands for the real hikers amongst us. You don’t have to look far to see the many different varieties.

The college kid down the street has a ratty one that looks like it’s seen better days. The teacher getting into her car carries three different totes — one for her laptop and lunch, one for two big binders, and a third that she uses as a purse. The well-heeled celebrities we see on the TV and social media carry designer messenger bags made of fine Italian leather.

Some are big, some are small. Some are cloth, some are leather. Some are expensive and some are cheap. We carry different things. One working mother on the run carries a bottle of water and yogurt. She didn’t have time for breakfast and hopes to eat before her first client meeting. Someone else may carry a laptop and a book.

The little boy down the street carries his school books. If you look real close, though, deep in a rear pocket, he carries his favorite baseball card — New York Yankees Outfielder Aaron Judge — and a picture of his mom. If he’s got her picture, he feels that she’s never far away from him, even when the meanie in the next row pushes him in line.

The trendsetters in any group are looking to make a fashion statement with their bags. Oh, they carry their wallet and phone in their bag, but it’s all for show. The bag goes with the outfit, silly.

We carry our own hopes and dreams in our backpacks. In his bag, John carries his to do list. Tops on the list is to stop at the jewelry store on his way home from work. He plans to make the final installment payment on an engagement ring. He plans to ask his lost-time girlfriend to marry him this weekend when they travel to the mountains.

Bob a plumber carries his iPad in his bag letting him know which house he needs to travel next. He’s got a few tools in there too. He likes when he can help. Oh, he knows times are tough for people, but he likes when he can help them out of a jam.

Some backpacks are heavy. Some are light.

The man sitting on a park bench carries his demons in his bag. He reaches into the bag, grabs a pic of his wife and kids and says, “I will not drink today. I will not drink today.” The woman on the bus checks her bag too. She makes sure she has her Pepper Spray for protection. She has to walk home tonight after the bus has stopped running and, if it’s dark, she wants extra protection — just in case.

You never know what’s in another person’s backpack. Sam absently picks up Stan’s backpack and is taken aback by how heavy it is. “What do you have in there? A Brink’s truck?” Stan laughs lightly but doesn’t offer any details. He hasn’t told his coworkers. His wife starts chemo later in the day and he’s got an extra sweatshirt and blanket for her. She asked him to keep things quiet.

Jamal thinks of his own heavy bag. He pulls it out and rearranges extra clothes, a magazine, and a book. He wife is pregnant. She could deliver any day now. He’s got everything he needs in case she goes into labor.

“Give Stan a break Sam. You never know. We’ve been to the hospital three times in the last two weeks. Gotta be prepared for anything and everything, right?”

Capital One, the large credit card company, has run an advertising campaign since 2000 asking “What’s in your wallet?” We’re all carrying something. Perhaps, the marketers with Capital One should instead be asking: What’s in your backpack?