So a guy at my school recently bought a murse. I hestitate to call him my friend...cuz I seriously question his buying decision. A murse, you ask? Yah. That's a man purse. That picture is the closest thing I could find to the shape and style of my friend's murse.

Now I'm not one to talk about fashion with authority. I'll be the first to admit that I have no style when it comes to clothes. After all, it was my ex who taught me well that my sense of clothing style is no better than a rhino. Bathing itself in mud. And it's true...I probably couldn't dress to save my own life. If it wasn't for my ex, God bless her, I'd probably still think aluminum foil was appropriate material as formal wear.

Now, in complete contrast, my friend is a clothes horse. He's up on his fashion...follows the latest trends and styles. And he dresses well--he owns and wears designer stuff (mostly from Prada). So I'd have to say he has more style than me. But I still question his latest purchase.

Dude! It's a bloody purse!

My friend likes to defend it by calling it a "messenger bag". The day he first wore it to school, he had letters in it that he was going to carry to the post office. Of course we would have none of it. A girl even tried to sneak lipstick and makeup into his bag for the full effect.

Now while my friend claims it is a "messenger bag" people at school just nod their head in agreement. But when my friend walks away and out of earshot, most people nod in agreement with me: "it's a purse!"

This has become a source of controversy at our school. After the laughters died down about my own pink thermos (more updates on that later), the prime lunchtime discussion has been taken up by the "purse or messenger bag" fiasco. Call this murse-gate. It's huge!

I quote someone who writes: "Nonetheless, i feel it prudent to once more expess my views on the so called "murse". Folks, there is of course nothing wrong with (nor anything cool about) a man purse. However, let's call a spade a spade. Does a purse by any other name contain less capcity [sic] for personal effects? Is the "messenger bag" not now adorning the neck of everyone's favcorite [sic] $0.50 bad chicken purveyor not as purse-like as any other? Let us not confuse the issue with nomenclature. A purse is a purse is a purse and this is undoubtedly the accessory that Mr. Pony Express now proudly dsiplays [sic] to his fellows. Good hope and Godspeed to you all and remember, there is nothing cool (nor anything wrong with) a man purse."

Hmmm. So why the social stigma? After all, in today's gadget orientated world...the well-equipped man needs something to store his digital camera, pda, discman/mp3 player, cell phone. Ok. But the point is that there ARE bags out there that don't look so purse-like: something like this one and this one. Sure I wouldn't buy these particular ones...but if you really needed to, you could find a decent bag that wasn't so...dainty looking.

Cuz the one my friend got is such a murse. *Everyone nods in agreement*