A lighter shade of Violet

On a road trip recently, I asked Violet the ultimate survival question: If you were forced to live off the land and could carry with you only what could fit in a one-square-foot backpack, what would you put in it?
Trying to be serious, my answers: A length of rope. A bag of salt. Two really sharp knives. Several spear tips. A piece of canvas.

Her answers: an iPod that could perpetually charge itself. A bottomless bottle of water. A magic lighter that would never run out of fuel.

So I changed my answer. I'd carry keys to the condo I had hidden out in the woods with a hot tub, satellite and internet.

We like to have those real chats.