A scooter in St. Tropez. Look closely at the sagging object my husband is carrying. Meet Mr. Sacks, Jean-Marc's lovable sidekick. The photos in the following story were taken over the years….
Today's Word: la sacoche (sah-kohsh)
: handbag, saddlebag, purse, bag
from the Italian saccoccia, or "little pocket"
la sacoche en cuir = leather bag
la sacoche d'écolier = school bag
la sacoche à outils = tool bag
une soirée de sacoches (Canadian expression) = girls' night out, evening with girlfriends
A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE… by Kristin Espinasse
Ode to Mr. Sacks
I couldn't believe my ears when Jean-Marc, packing for his business trip, mentioned: "I'm not taking my sacoche with me."
Vraiment? My husband might as well have decided to leave an appendage behind–son bras droit, for example, the one he uses to lift his wine glass. That is how vital his trusty, takes-with-him everywhere sacoche is to him.
What with increasing restrictions for carry-on and check-in, Jean-Marc's dear sidekick, Mr. Sacks, is the latest victime of airline cutbacks!
Poor Mr. Sacks! I've never felt sorry for the old bag before. Mostly, I've felt envious. Mr. Sacks is the one who goes on all the business trips with my husband. Mr. Sacks goes to all the local wine tastings while I sit at home guzzling tap water.
Mr Sacks in Paris… the one on the left. (Make no mistake, the other bags mean nothing to Jean-Marc!)
Mr. Sacks in Ventimille, Italy, watching locals play boules, or pétanque.
I do pity, Mr. Sacks, now that his saggy little body is pouting in the corner of my husband's office. This is the first time in his 12-year-old life that he's collected dust. Normally he's on the go….
Mr. Sacks cruising the island of Cres, in Croatia. Just kidding, Jean-Marc would never put Mr. Sacks in this predicament (water). This brings me to the next point…
Regularly I am asked to hold on to Mr. Sacks while my husband sprints off to use a public restroom or when (as pictured above) he is practicing a sport. "Tu peux prendre ma sacoche?" He asks. And I always grumble, not wanting to hold the heavy "third wheel". Apart from tractor wrenches, he even keeps wine bottles (for his tastings) in there…
Mr. Sacks (on the floor, next to the bucket spittoon)
Some refer to Mr. Sacks as a "man purse". That always makes me snicker. Hahahahahaha! Man Bag!!! Sac Homme! I point at Mr. Sacks. But Mr. Sacks isn't laughing…
Me, babysitting Mr. Sacks in Malta in 2017. Jean-Marc purchased the leather bag in une maroquinerie in Draguignan, years and years ago. It was love at first sight.
Jean-Marc's got that guilty look on his face. He's always holding hands with Mr. Sacks instead of with me–and he knows it! While others worry about the other woman, I have to worry about the old bag!
Mr. Sacks is with him on bad hair days…
And on good hair days… at the beach in Sainte-Maxime.
And especially on family days!
Visiting the healing waters at Lourdes. Can you spot Mr. Sacks?
Mr. Sacks in Burgundy… with the winemakers…
But old Mr. Sacks, as you can see, is beginning to sag. I worry that items inside him will begin to fly out of his slouching pockets. I especially worry that money will fall out. For this reason, I sometimes follow close in Jean-Marc's wake as he goes about his errands. I am stumbling along behind him swatting my arms back and forth prepared to catch those banknotes that might come flying out of that sagging bag.
Mr. Sacks is coming apart at the seams, which just goes to show even sacks have middle-age crisis.
Over the years I've tried to get Jean-Marc to consider buying a new bag. Nothin' doin'! "But it's a hazard," I argue (a financial hazard at that! Just think if money really were flying out of that bag).
"I'm keeping my bag!" my husband always argues back.
A couple of weeks ago Jean-Marc announced with an ear-to-ear grin: Je l'ai fait réparer, mon sac. He had brought Mr. Sacks to the leather mender's, in town. The guy did a wonderful job, Jean-Marc told me, adding that the man was nearly 90 years old.
Any ill will or harsh feelings I may have felt regarding Mr. Sacks flew out of the picture (as those bank notes might have…). My heart smiled thinking of the wrinkled man sewing the wrinkled bag, one soul giving life back to the other, each content to be of service for as long as they were needed or wanted.
FRENCH VOCABULARY
vraiment = really
le bras = arm
droit = right
tu peux prendre ma sacoche = can you take my bag?
la maroquinerie = purse, bag, and luggage shop
le sac homme = man purse
je l'ai fait réparer = I had it fixed
mon sac = my purse
Oh dear. Here is Mr. Sacks on the little island of Porquerolles, with Jean-Marc and his formidable mop-spear. I hope you read about this confection–Jean-Marc was very proud of it–in the chapter "Lance".
Mr. Sacks in Caltagirone, Sicily… can't you see him sniffing the pretty flowers? Voilà, for this edition. If you feel like one more story, read about the time I found a heart-stopping message inside of Mr. Sacks.
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Kristi, I absolutely LOVED both your story you told, and the words you used to tell it — beautiful in every way. I understand well how JM feels about Mr. Sacks. He’s a bag with character that only comes with age. It’s one of the things I love about both leather and wood — all the little nicks and scars only add to their beauty and give them their individual personality. Your image of the old man mending the old bag is appropriate — the lines and scars we achieve in our lives are our medailles d’or! Bravo, Kristi! xx
Kristi, I absolutely LOVED both your story you told, and the words you used to tell it — beautiful in every way. I understand well how JM feels about Mr. Sacks. He’s a bag with character that only comes with age. It’s one of the things I love about both leather and wood — all the little nicks and scars only add to their beauty and give them their individual personality. Your image of the old man mending the old bag is appropriate — the lines and scars we achieve in our lives are our medailles d’or! Bravo, Kristi! xx
delightful post! but where is Mr. Sacks’ after picture?
delightful post! but where is Mr. Sacks’ after picture?
Fantastic post! I love the pictures, and I’m so happy he went to the repair shop in the end.
Fantastic post! I love the pictures, and I’m so happy he went to the repair shop in the end.
What a riot!! So glad Mr. Sacks got repaired…and I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the bank notes to come flying out, but you following the bag in anticipation is a hysterical image!!! That bag could be the subject of your first kid’s book, ” Travels with Monsieur le Sac” … xox
What a riot!! So glad Mr. Sacks got repaired…and I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for the bank notes to come flying out, but you following the bag in anticipation is a hysterical image!!! That bag could be the subject of your first kid’s book, ” Travels with Monsieur le Sac” … xox
I love this post and Mr. Sac. Some people have security blankets, others…..Mr. Sac has a wonderful soul.
Mary
I love this post and Mr. Sac. Some people have security blankets, others…..Mr. Sac has a wonderful soul.
Mary
oh, how I can relate! My husband says, unabashedly, that he is a “bag person”. Wherever we go, we look at bags. And yes, he too has a favorite old, very used, sagging bag! He works on it constantly…always a new something to bring back old leather or to enhance the already worn look. But, to be fair, he also always carried a camera or two and doesn’t want the camera bag look, so these leather “man bags” do the trick.
oh, how I can relate! My husband says, unabashedly, that he is a “bag person”. Wherever we go, we look at bags. And yes, he too has a favorite old, very used, sagging bag! He works on it constantly…always a new something to bring back old leather or to enhance the already worn look. But, to be fair, he also always carried a camera or two and doesn’t want the camera bag look, so these leather “man bags” do the trick.
I too have a favourite sac that I take everywhere.it was made in Italy and given to me 35yrs ago.It goes everywhere with me.perhaps while he is away you might want to put a leather polish on it?
I too have a favourite sac that I take everywhere.it was made in Italy and given to me 35yrs ago.It goes everywhere with me.perhaps while he is away you might want to put a leather polish on it?
You told this story so well, and I loved the accompanying photos. Your “other woman” really is an “old bag”.
You told this story so well, and I loved the accompanying photos. Your “other woman” really is an “old bag”.
Loved it!!!!
Loved it!!!!
My husband has a bag that is falling apart and he just keeps on using it. I loved this story.
My husband has a bag that is falling apart and he just keeps on using it. I loved this story.
Hi Kristi,
What a delightful story-so funny, and what a good sport Jean-Marc is! It reminds me of the pictures of the gnome traveling around the world. I am so glad that Mr. Sacks has a new lease on life-an appropriate theme for spring!
P.S. We are sorry Jean-Marc isn’t bringing his wine-tasting to Asheville this year. Hope he can come back soon (and bring you with him!)
Hi Kristi,
What a delightful story-so funny, and what a good sport Jean-Marc is! It reminds me of the pictures of the gnome traveling around the world. I am so glad that Mr. Sacks has a new lease on life-an appropriate theme for spring!
P.S. We are sorry Jean-Marc isn’t bringing his wine-tasting to Asheville this year. Hope he can come back soon (and bring you with him!)
Very Well Done….A nice look at the evolution of an addiction! I can relate…having had similar “attchments”
Regards
Very Well Done….A nice look at the evolution of an addiction! I can relate…having had similar “attchments”
Regards
We’d like to see Mr. Sacks after the “make over”!!!
We’d like to see Mr. Sacks after the “make over”!!!
This was awesome. Made me giggle! Great way to start the day 🙂
This was awesome. Made me giggle! Great way to start the day 🙂
So funny! Loved the story in pictures. Did Jean-Marc have a beloved teddy bear or something similar that his mother took away from him when he was a boy? Mr. Sacks may be the replacement. And maybe his leaving Mr. Sacks behind on this trip is a sign that he is growing up.
So funny! Loved the story in pictures. Did Jean-Marc have a beloved teddy bear or something similar that his mother took away from him when he was a boy? Mr. Sacks may be the replacement. And maybe his leaving Mr. Sacks behind on this trip is a sign that he is growing up.
a nice walk down memory lane : )
I especially liked your final analysis – “… My heart smiled thinking of the wrinkled man sewing the wrinkled bag, one soul giving life back to the other, each content to be of service for as long as they were needed or wanted.”
a nice walk down memory lane : )
I especially liked your final analysis – “… My heart smiled thinking of the wrinkled man sewing the wrinkled bag, one soul giving life back to the other, each content to be of service for as long as they were needed or wanted.”
I, too, had a leather bag that I used on a daily basis. It held everything, but like Jean-Marc’s it lost its rigidness and began to sag. It’s now only used on overseas trips as it holds more than any other carry-on I have. We’ll be having dinner with J-M tonight so I’ll ask him where his infamous sacoche is.
I, too, had a leather bag that I used on a daily basis. It held everything, but like Jean-Marc’s it lost its rigidness and began to sag. It’s now only used on overseas trips as it holds more than any other carry-on I have. We’ll be having dinner with J-M tonight so I’ll ask him where his infamous sacoche is.
This is so true of every Frenchman I know!!! I wouldn’t have thought to write a story of my husband’s sacoche, and could never have written such a delightful, clever version! He has several old ones in the closet, kindof a ‘sacoche cemetery’ where he has stored “my papers”, and God only knows what else, said firmly every time he knows I’m thinking they should really go OUT!
This is so true of every Frenchman I know!!! I wouldn’t have thought to write a story of my husband’s sacoche, and could never have written such a delightful, clever version! He has several old ones in the closet, kindof a ‘sacoche cemetery’ where he has stored “my papers”, and God only knows what else, said firmly every time he knows I’m thinking they should really go OUT!
Enjoyed your piece on Mr.Sacks. Sometimes the old reliable is so much better! I like how you tied it all together with the old man fixing the old bag. Your comment about worrying about the old bag instead of the other women was a hoot! Take care!
Happy Easter to you and your family.
Enjoyed your piece on Mr.Sacks. Sometimes the old reliable is so much better! I like how you tied it all together with the old man fixing the old bag. Your comment about worrying about the old bag instead of the other women was a hoot! Take care!
Happy Easter to you and your family.
Your post made me smile this early morning in Seattle! What an homage to the bag and the man.
Your post made me smile this early morning in Seattle! What an homage to the bag and the man.
Before we paid our very first visit to Domaine Rouge-Bleu and met you and Chief Grape in person, I recognized Jean-Marc on the streets of Ste. Cecile from photographs. He was striding purposefully through Ste-Cecile’s Saturday morning market on his way to sell his wine, no doubt,–and was carrying Mr. Sacks!
Before we paid our very first visit to Domaine Rouge-Bleu and met you and Chief Grape in person, I recognized Jean-Marc on the streets of Ste. Cecile from photographs. He was striding purposefully through Ste-Cecile’s Saturday morning market on his way to sell his wine, no doubt,–and was carrying Mr. Sacks!
Hey! I think I own Mr. Sack’s twin brother!! It looks just alike, except mine has a shoulder strap!! I take it EVERYWHERE!! It even went to Alaska with me!
Go Sacks!!
Hey! I think I own Mr. Sack’s twin brother!! It looks just alike, except mine has a shoulder strap!! I take it EVERYWHERE!! It even went to Alaska with me!
Go Sacks!!
Love today’s post, hilarious!!
Love today’s post, hilarious!!
I loved, loved this story. Most of us have a cherished possession (old t-shirt, comfy shoes)that we cannot dispose of or replace. These items have so many memories connected with them. I admire Jean-Marc for keeping his “old friend” with him on all his adventures. It is a comfort as well as useful to him. I also understand Kristen’s concerns as I watch my husband put on his favorite holey tshirt every weekend.
I loved, loved this story. Most of us have a cherished possession (old t-shirt, comfy shoes)that we cannot dispose of or replace. These items have so many memories connected with them. I admire Jean-Marc for keeping his “old friend” with him on all his adventures. It is a comfort as well as useful to him. I also understand Kristen’s concerns as I watch my husband put on his favorite holey tshirt every weekend.
Beautiful, what a delightful story… the pictures and text enhance each other and so fun to walk alongside french life. I am one for “old friends” and wish we had such a leather mender in town. Thank you.
Beautiful, what a delightful story… the pictures and text enhance each other and so fun to walk alongside french life. I am one for “old friends” and wish we had such a leather mender in town. Thank you.