Good story. I keep a small elasticised cargo net in my side bag. It has about 6 hooks all around the edges. It works great to hold things on.

 

I have saddlebags but the lunch box wouldn't fit in the saddlebags. I had put the book bag in one of the saddle bags before, but I was carrying some extra gear that day and the book bag wouldn't fit either.

I have actually strapped the lunch box and the book bag onto the bike many times before without mishap. However, I was trying a different way of strapping them on that I thought would be more secure. And......it wasn't.

 

A few years ago a buddy of mine, his girlfriend, and I were at Myrtle Beach for bike week. Same thing happened to him. Cell phone fell out of his case which was on his belt. Another biker pulled up beside us at a light and handed him his phone.

Funny thing is, the Ipod Touch which I had in a leather case, popped out of my shirt pocket on I-29 in Missouri on my way to Sturgis this year. Went back and found it face down in a rumble strip with the flip on the case open. There wasn't a scratch on it and it worked perfectly. This time it just couldn't take a direct hit from a car.

 

I have a cargo net too. But, I don't much care for the one I have. That's why I don't use it that often. I had one that I bought at Northern Tool that I liked a lot better but a friend talked me into trading for the one I have. Wishing now I hadn't traded.

 

The one thing that concerns me this day and time is the SS card. I do not carry my SS card even in my wallet just in case. Think if someone else had found it. That could be a lot of misery.
That said, get some saddle bags.