Living out of a suitcase

By Angela Seneviratne

Hello dear hearts and gentle people!

 A better August is wished for all of you . I promised myself I will not mutter or write a single word about politricks or the people playing them. 

As a few of you may have realized I took wing out of the island a few months ago after a long time. Even the airport looked different when I entered. I felt a wizened old fossil of a misplaced tourist. All the high tech requisites were upon me all at once.. QR codes to land, and such. I was not sure if my derelict phone would even stand the strain of logging in and out of strange sites.
The Airline ground staff were very kind. They permitted me to zip in and out to the counter, tripping over other passengers, while trundling my suitcase, cabin bag, handbag and rucksack, just to ask how to do the clicking in.
Did I mention suit case ? Ahhhh the stories I can tell you of that innocent looking box!! Why am I always buying new luggage? I don’t know, but here I go again. It seems that I cannot keep decent luggage for some reason, and every time I go somewhere, I have to buy a suitcase.

My red luggage looked so nice when I bought it years ago, three pieces all matching. A trip or two with airport luggage handlers venting their own personal domestic issues on my luggage, playing football with it and it began to crumble. The inside had pieces of shattered plastic to clean out before packing. The outside trim left a trail of plastic crumbs behind me like being followed by ants.
 I could not bear the humiliation any longer.

I had a nearly new suitcase that I bought when we went to Maldives, a nice one and a carry-on size. It was purple. When I bought it, purple was the only thing I could find on short notice that would meet the airlines specifications for size. Do the math. This is not a very large suitcase. However, I have now learned to travel light and to always buy a good suitcase.

As it turned out, purple was not such a bad colour choice. When hundreds of black suitcases all looking identical come tumbling out on the carousel at the airport, my purple one is easy to spot. So, I figured I would use the purple one again this time. I forgot that my friend borrowed the purple suitcase and it now belongs to her. I agreed that she could have it, forgetting that there might be a next time. Besides, newer luggage now has four wheels and two-wheels are obsolete. Don’t tell my friend. But she might be reading this.

I can never seem to keep decent luggage. About the time that I purchased a nice set of leather Samsonite years ago, luggage with wheels came along. My no-wheels luggage was instantly obsolete. Who do you see walking around carrying a suitcase these days — no one.

After my leather luggage went the way of the dinosaur, I bought a new black suitcase with wheels, the largest one I could find. “This will hold everything,” I thought. And it did. And it weighed a ton. Most airlines charge the earth these days to check luggage, and it is much too large to carry on. The porter finished off the big black suitcase when he dropped it and one of the wheels broke.
This time my new suitcase is blue. The purple, red, and green ones were all the wrong size. I hope blue will be different enough that I can find it. The suitcase salesman said that business travellers want black. Seasoned travellers have a carry-on and take it with them. No checking luggage, no delays, no lost luggage.
Now that I’ve spent big bucks, I’m certain they will come out with something even better, something indestructible that can do cartwheels instead of merely spin. My little spinner will be obsolete before I can use it twice. Suitcase designers are busy every day dreaming up new ideas.

They now have smart luggage with a battery that will put out an electronic signal so it can’t be lost. Travelling gets more complicated every day.. And there is always the eventuality that I will sit for hours at the security just because I forgot my combination code.

 So folks I am hapy to be travelling again.. as long as the planes have fuel.

Take care. Much love to you all.