Wistful thinking- vague, longing. This leads to wishful thinking- desire for something unrealistic. And next comes willful thinking- deliberate, determined- no matter how unrealistic it is. This picture captures the many mindsets that now frustrate airline passengers. Overbooked, delayed, cancelled- announcements a traveler dreads. And even if you get where you’re going, your checked bag might not.
So what’s a traveler to do? Travel light unless you have a compelling reason not to. There are some good reasons for a bringing a lot of stuff to the airport: Baby or babies. Sporting- golf junkets, mountain climbing or a driven pheasant shoot perhaps. A fancy occasion- a black tie wedding or a red carpet gala. Special physical needs. A case might be made for other traveling-heavy situations, but not by me.
I’m the standard bearer for traveling light. If you carry it on, you and your baggage always arrive together. A carry on keeps you honest. No extras. No “just in case”. No “I’ll decide when I get there.” No lost luggage. And no need for electronic luggage trackers like this one. “Pebblebee’s powerful app and family of tracking products provide a simple, effective solution to one of life’s biggest challenges: keeping track of everything that’s important to you.” I guess challenge is in the eyes of the challenged.
I’m going with a paraphrase of Wendell Berry on clutter*- “Don’t travel with with so much clutter that you might be relieved to never see your luggage again.”
An aside. That smiley face suitcase… travel irony. The owner doesn’t get it, but we do,
* Worth a Google