So I was discussing suitcases the other day with someone who is quite a bit younger than me. Like almost 20 years. Anyway, I commented that I have found that it's best to just buy cheap WalMart suitcases because they last as long as expensive suitcases. In fact, sometimes I am convinced that baggage handlers exact revenge on expensive suitcases while treating my duct-taped Yves Ste El Cheapo cases with pity.

Anyway, my friend mentioned that he likes cases that have a lot of compartments in them. That got me to thinking ... increasingly younger generations do seem to have more compartments they carry around. It started with cargo pants and then book bags and backpacks and suitcases. Now they have a nook or a cranny for just about anything.

And, when you think about it, things like Facebook and MySpace also allow for compartmentalization.

I am not sure it's all a good thing. Keeping things hidden does not mean they don't exist.

I think I will stick with my generation -- we just throw all our crap onto the table in a big pile for others to enjoy, admire, pity, laugh at, or cry with.