The Bag, Bruno, and Another Goodbye

The Satchel & Page Slim Mailbag has arrived! So far I’m impressed. The leather is thick and the bag is constructed with heavy duty copper rivets. I’ll be putting this bag through its paces over the next few months as I take it with me on my summer travels and we'll see how it holds up.

They call it “slim” for a reason. There’s just enough room for the essentials in this Slim Mailbag—a 13” laptop with charger, headphones, pens, passport case, a couple small books, and a few other EDC items (including the Leatherman multitool peeking out there from the edge).

The color of the bag doesn’t exactly match the photo on Satchel & Page’s website. The bag I received is more of a deep brown than the reddish-brown color as depicted on the website but I’m not complaining. I’m sure this will develop a nice patina the more it’s used.

Also the leather was very dry and stiff when it arrived. It was almost as though it was stored in a hot, dry warehouse for a while. I used a bit of Bick 4 leather conditioner on it and it softened it right up. I've used this product on my Redwing boots for years and it protects and conditions the leather without darkening it at all, it’s a great product. The leather is supple and pliable now, as it should be.

The Satchel & Page Slim Mailbag is ready for the road! I’ll be reporting back with a full, long-term review of my experience with the bag in a few months.

Bruno

We had our first opportunity to see a concert in the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the home of the Minnesota Vikings this week. It is absolutely gigantic and the photos just give no idea precisely how big the stadium is.

Although Bruno Mars, his band, and opening acts were wonderful, the acoustics in the stadium weren’t the greatest. Thank the Lord for the Loop earplugs, as they made the show a lot more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

I think we’ve been spoiled by some of the smaller music venues in the Twin Cities area. The sound crew had to turn up the decibel level so much to fill a big venue like the US Bank Stadium that you're blasted by it if you have seats that are in close proximity to the stage.

There was a good mix of young and old at the sold out show.

Even if pop music isn’t your thing I’d encourage you to check out one of Bruno’s concerts if you have a chance. In my opinion Bruno Mars is the kind of entertainer that you don’t see much of anymore. The concert was reminiscent of some of the pop-icons of the 80’s and 90’s like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince.

I definitely feel like we got our money’s worth and that feeling is becoming more and more rare these days. Also, downtown Minneapolis—at least near the stadium–seemed clean and orderly. There was a police presence to match the size of the stadium so that was probably a good deterrent. Maybe there are better days ahead for the Twin Cities, I certainly hope this is the case.

Another Goodbye

Before the show we had one final dinner at The Downtowner Woodfire Grill in St. Paul. Our good friend, Dan ("the man"), used to manage this restaurant. We’ve made so many good memories at the Downtowner throughout the years and it’s been the backdrop of so many birthdays and celebrations for us—including my 50th birthday.

The owner of the Downtowner announced on Facebook last week that their last day of service will be this Sunday, May 17th. One by one all of our old haunts are closing down. The pandemic was the first of many challenges since 2020 and this economy has been especially brutal on the hospitality industry.

We enjoyed our last pre-concert dinner—except for the sticker shock when the bill arrived to the table. It was easily twice the price we would have paid just a few years ago. As @bozz and I were discussing in the comments of one of his posts the other day $100 seems to be the going-rate for two at restaurants these days. Making one more memory was worth the price. Hopefully this will be the last of the goodbyes for a while.

All for now. Thanks so much for reading.