I am probably not the only person who, when going outside, frisks themselves to be sure we are carrying those items we consider important. Those important items include a billfold, a watch for most people, and a jack knife, keys and nail clipper on a key ring, a handkerchief, for me.

Oh yes, I also will want to have a pen and a small notebook with paper.

The other day I left home and about five miles, away I realized I forgot my cell phone. I did not turn around to retrieve it but I was tempted to. I knew my trip was going to last a couple hours so I could get along without it for that amount of time but it was still somewhat unnerving to knowingly be out of contact until I got home.

Approaching 63 years of life on this earth has brought me to where my self-frisking has me check if everything is in place. Change goes in the front left pocket of my jeans, keys, clipper and knife go in the front right pocket, billfold goes in the left rear and the handkerchief goes in the right rear. Cell phone, pen and paper go in the shirt pocket. After checking myself out, I am ready for the day.

Wintertime has its advantages because I wear a shirt with at least one good pocket. However, my summer uniform of a T-shirt reduces my available space for my daily essentials.

A pocket of a T-shirt is not the best because a t-shirt is lightweight and the cheap ones are just plain flimsy. The weight of my cell phone makes the cheap ones sag around the collar adding to my poor appearance.

Believe it or not, I am building up to something with all this. By now, you can see that each day I go about my day equipped with a place for everything and everything in its place.

But a new item has thrown things out of equilibrium. I have run out of pockets for a new gizmo I want to carry. I have had about 90 days of experience carrying a GPS unit in the car or a coat pocket and it has taken a place of importance along side my cell phone.

It has passed from the curiosity stage when I first turned it on to become a device where I store addresses, phone numbers, and even music and pictures. I also use it to get directions and best of all, give directions. Amazing.

I used it around home before our East Coast trip to learn what it could do and see if this thing was any good. I learned it was not infallible but it was reliable, more reliable than anything else I have used before.

During our East Coast trip, it had us driving roads as if we lived there. We found the laundromat in Williamsburg, Va. so we could do our laundry during the middle weekend. We found the Ford assembly plant where my pickup was built in Norfolk, Virginia that is now an empty building with a for sale sign in front of it.

That GPS unit was ready to take us anywhere we wanted to go (as long as we had an address or as we learned in Indianapolis, a good address).

Now that we are back home it will have to do more mundane duties. Addresses of new places to eat or sights to see will be replaced by destinations of places we need to get to so we can take care of business or my wife can buy yarn.

This spring I will carry my GPS with me in the tractor to mark places of rocks in the field that need to be picked up. The GPS will guide me to that spot when I return with the loader tractor.

I added one more address on my GPS unit the other day. I was sitting in front of the TV and marked the spot where my living room chair is. No matter where I go, I will be able to know how far I am from my recliner and how to get back. That is a destination.

Now I need to find a pocket that my GPS fits in.