The day after a holiday calls for a short post on a light-hearted topic.
I just couldn’t imagine anyone wanting a blog that was full of deep thoughts, strong opinions, challenging questions, or recommendations for development. It’s the day after a holiday. One that fell on a Tuesday.
Coming home from a business trip last week, I had an exciting moment in baggage claim – maybe you’ve had a moment like this as well? My luggage was first up on the belt.
First thought – I will be minutes faster getting out the door and getting home. Second thought – thank goodness it’s not lost. I know many, many business travelers who think I’m crazy to even check a bag. For both of those reasons. But, I do. And it works for me. You do you…I’ll do me.
The first bag up off the carousel. Did I win the lottery? No special tag on my bag, no crazy elite mile status, just luck of the draw this trip.
My excitement quickly vanished when I pulled up the handle to wheel it out and realized the top of the pull handle itself had cracked and separated from the long retractable part.
Over four billion bags are checked each year worldwide.
I did a few rough calculations in my head. Amortizing out a piece of luggage I bought as part of a set nine or 10 years ago.
This one particular piece of luggage has been on many trips. It has been my go-to bag when I know I’m going to check a bag and my trip is more than two nights. Two of the kids also tend to favorite it, so it’s even been places I haven’t yet traveled. My very rough math = less than 35 cents per trip for the decade this bag has been in service in our household.
That bag served me well.
Time for a new one. I travel again in a few weeks.
Crowd-sourcing seems to be the way to handle situations like this. Sure, I already have the link to the same (yet upgraded version) model if I go that route. But if you have a style or brand of luggage you love, feel free to comment or send me a note directly.
And if you even clicked on and read this piece, I sincerely hope you enjoyed your holiday yesterday, and are ready to get back at it today (unless of course you took time off to enjoy some downtime!).
(Photo credit Egor Myznik)
