Go Vest, Young Man!

First... why a vest? I'd like to tell you that it all started growing up in The Bronx, when my father, Max Serkes, would give me... in his strong Russian accent... the same advice he took when he was a teenager "go vest, young man!"

But that never really happened.

We tried using sweaters or sports jackets... but I carry so much gear that the pockets sagged! Not surprising, since I usually carry a lockbox key, cell phone, Treo 700 cell phone/PDA/email unit, digital camera, checkbooks, note pads, post-its (don't leave home without it) and more!

And now a very cool 80 GB iPod!

I thought that a vest might work well, so bought a nice fabric one from Royal Robbins on Gilman Street. Everything fit just fine... but the cloth vest didn't hold its shape well. We were attending a real estate convention in Las Vegas... and Carol found the perfect leather vest at Wilson's Leather It works just great, and looks pretty good too! Now you know the rest of the story. But now there's more! My friends John & Ellen Pinto hosted a dinner at One Market in San Francisco, where I met their friends, Peter & Susanne Rundberg of Fog City Leather. Peter made me a custom black leather vest (aka Ira's Purse), which I love!

And we liked the black vest so well... we ordered a reddish-brown one! We picked it up yesterday after greeting Queen Mary II to San Francisco... and it is beautiful!