wallet

Like anything observed or studied, my wallet would be subject to observer bias. What an observer would see would be tainted by their personal experiences. Aside from normal demographics from ID cards, personality could only be assumed. What would my wallet tell a stranger about me? It could identify most of my physical traits. Although, the weight documented on my driver’s license it is not accurate and never has been.

A stranger may believe the owner of my wallet to be an overweight, middle-aged, white male. The wallet itself is black, leather and of average to small size. The corners are worn but there is no obvious damage.

There are twenty items in the wallet, five of them pictures. The pictures could indicate the owner was a family man as one of the pictures seems to be a family group shot. He appears to have three children. There are no dates on the pictures however other pictures appear to be the same children at older ages. There is one credit card. A well-worn Alaska Airlines Signature Visa that’s about to expire. What could this say? One card could imply either confidence of not needing more as the balance is low enough to handle what could be purchased. It could be the owner could only qualify for one card. Of course neither is true. There’s an ATM card from Washington Mutual; a bank that doesn’t even exist anymore. Could this be a sign of loyalty or fear of change? There is a single twenty dollar bill. At one time a small amount of money in a wallet could mean a lack of funds. In today’s world, a small amount of cash really isn’t a sign of poverty. This find, in my opinion, has no significance but a stranger may think otherwise.

The owner appears to be a firefighter and a paramedic. There is state and local ID for both and a union card from the International Association of Firefighters. He also has excellent medical insurance as evidenced by his insurance card. The AAA card implies he drives. There is also current college ID from Everett Community College and a library card from Sno-Isle Library. It could be assumed he is a college student.

There really isn’t anything truly unusual in the wallet. It does seem to draw a rather accurate picture of me. But then, I know the whys and whatnots of the contents. I know why there is only one credit card.