Coat Checks

So, again, today i checked my coat when i went to the Barbican Gallery, and it sent me thinking about how odd that concept is to me. I would never do it if everyone else around wasn't doing it as well. Here in London, every place has a coat check. In North Carolina (and certainly Georgia) coat check counters are rare creatures. I usually just go with the old "tie-it-around-the-waist middle-school acrylic-wind-jacket" style. I don't have any rational reason for thinking it, but i always imagine the coat check person is going to just run away with my jacket. Maybe that is because that is what i would do if i worked at one of the counters. I usually give them the eye right before i hand over my coat, you know size them up, guage their credibility. Maybe check to make sure they don't have a fresh pair of athletic shoes on and a clear route to the exit. And that little thing with the number they give you to claim your coat later...what if I lose that tiny thing? Can i never get my jacket back?

Bzzz...