Bebemoche's Luggage Fiasco

Thursday night, I was sipping my tomato juice in the airline lounge, when I heard an announcement that my flight, delayed, was finally ready for boarding. Exhausted, I dragged myself out of my comfortable leather armchair, pulled my 25lb laptop bag onto my shoulder, and reached over to pull up the handle of my roller bag when......the handle did not come up.

Several bystanders, mostly men, attempted to assist me in extending the handle, but it simply would not come up no matter how hard we tried. I therefore had to take the bag in my hands and carry it, heaving and sweating, all the way to the gate. The perfect end to a perfect week.


This morning, as I slowly came to consciousness after my usual Friday nigt bar session, I realized that said handle extension problem was going to be a major issue for next week's travel. I diligently searched the internet for a registered repair shop for my brand of luggage, called and had a conversation with the salesman over the phone, dragged myself into the shower (a major accomplishment for a Saturday morning), and went out into the cold, miserable, and windy weather to deliver my bag to the luggage shop.

One cab ride later, I walked into the shop door, prepared to do anything necessary to have the bag repaired today. The salesman recognized my voice from the phone, walked over to inspect the bag, and delicately pulled the handle up! The bag had suffered some sort of shock that unjammed the handle during my miserable voyage to 47th and Madison, and was no longer in need of repair.

Another cab, back home, warm and dry, $12 less in my pocket, and pleased that I will not have to purchase new luggage.

Next time I will simply throw the damn bag down on the ground and stomp on it.