Differences evident in packing methods

Resslin' Around by Casey Ressler

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned road trip, and that's exactly what my family did this weekend, traveling 300 miles north to Fairbanks for a softball tournament. As we started packing for three days, I realized just how different men and women are when it comes to preparation.

I made a list of the &#8220important things” to pack for the weekend before we left, to make sure I didn't forget them. My wife did the same, and you would never guess we were going to the same place if you compared the lists side-by-side.

Mine was simple - softball glove, beer, iPod, cooler to surround beer, ice to comfort beer. I was pretty sure that summed up everything I'd need for the weekend.

My wife's list, however, was a bit more detailed, right down to washcloths, toothbrushes and assorted nonessential items that most people call &#8220toiletries.”

I'll be honest - after two days of softball in the heat of Fairbanks, I'm glad she packed soap, but I probably wouldn't have missed it if I had been in charge.

I fit everything I'd need into a cooler, a backpack and two pockets, yet my wife's SUV was loaded down with more gear than an Alaska Airlines cargo jet. That fluffy pillow sure did feel good though.

Wives are like that, though - always looking out for our best interests, namely, bringing toothpaste and an extra change of underwear.

It always amazes me how guys can take 10 hours or 10 minutes to pack for a fishing trip, depending on how much advance warning we receive. If I know a night before, I meticulously lay out my waders, fly vest, rods and reels, and just about every other item I'll need, right down to the spare batteries for my GPS unit, even though I don't turn it on 99 percent of the time. It usually takes me a couple of hours to get everything just the way I like them.

But, if my dad or a buddy calls and says they are headed to the river in 15 minutes and do I want to come, I can get the exact same items packed in the exact same manner and still have enough time to hit the espresso stand on the way to fill my Thermos.

I guess it's a matter of priorities - I can search for a day trying to find an important phone number on my desk, but I can tell you with certainty that I've got a dozen Woolly Buggers in my top right pocket of my fly vest, even if I haven't used them since last season. Some things are just more important than others.

The whole packing process illustrated to me that in marriage, like on the softball field, good teamwork is tough to beat.

Between my wife and I, we had everything packed that we needed, and all the bases were covered when it came to having the truck ready to go on Friday.

We knew we each were responsible for certain items - me the inconsequential ones and her the items that had a bit more of a direct bearing on being clean.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor. He packed his GPS in case he got lost on the one road leading to Fairbanks.