I dont know how it ever got this way. There was just the two of us. Last week, we were heading to an island in Lake Erie for the remainder of Monday, then spend an entire day Tuesday, then most of the daytime Wednesday, biking and cart-riding around the little towns on that, and a neighboring island. I was kinda surprised at how much stuff I 'just had to take'. I put it in the car before my wife, and waited. She takes after her Mom. Once, a long time back, I saw Mom's 'suitcase'. It looked like a combination store and snack-mart. Mom had soup (like there isnt any wherever her and Dad were going!), snacks, room freshner, coffee, tea...sometimes powered drink mixes, and everything else you can and cannot imagine. Now, the wifes a bit more tame than her Mom, but still, all her bags are like a magician's sack. You never know what in there! Back to me waiting at the trunk for her.
While waiting, I juggled my bags around. (Bag-s? Did he say 'bags'...as in plural?!) Yeah. Anyway...I had my gym bag and towel and toiletries, and some meds. I always have two bags with identical items in each. So I had the gym bag, plus I had my regular bag with digital recorder, mini dvd cam, zip drive, ear buds for listening to music with, and headset mic and headpiece for my cell phone. I also had a book, a magazine, notepad, checkbook and datebook. Oh...and cell phone charger, mini fan and small fan(yes...2 of them). I also had my good clothes on, and swimwear and shorts in my bags(2...yep, had 'em in both). I brought a long sleeve shirt, a jacket and 3 tee shirts. The DVD player always goes on trips, so I had it and a few dvd's to watch, maybe in the car along the way. The small ice chest was a naturally great idea. (Remember her Mom?) Well, this way we could keep our drinks, chip dips, fruit or whatever, cold and with us in the car and hotel room. Cool. (no pun intended).
Laura matched me with the amount of clothes she brought. Except, she brought extra lingere. She also brought her purse (also a place that needs perhaps it's own zip-code!). Of course, she had her video camera bag and accessories, and a leather valise to put them all in. We had a store-bag with some snacks in it as well. In the car we had a bag with maps, and for sure we packed incense or candles for the room like always.(Dont cha just hate that mildew smell a lot of rooms have?). So, there we were about ready for the two hour road-trip. Oops! Forgot the radio! Gotta have music in those hotel rooms! Finally, we closed the trunk, and hung the good clothes on hangers in the backseat. Good. Now, we're ready. So, we each got in and buckled up. "Oh-oh. I think we got a low tire" I said getting out to check. After walking aroung the car twice, the only thing I noticed was that it was sitting low, like one of those California 'low-riders'. "They're all level and look ok" I shouted to Laura. I got back in the drivers seat, and the car immediately sunk lower again. There was just too much weight in the car. Hey! We didnt even take the dog this time either!
So, there we were. Packed, stacked, gassed and ready to go. But, the car was too low to back out of the drive without hitting the concrete and getting scrapped up. "I'll have to take something out" I mumbled wondering how it ever got to this point of having so much 'stuff' and necessities. Well, I couldnt take the gym bag out, because I work out and swim all the time, so I need it. Couldnt take out the boombox and dvd player...what would we watch or listen to? My clothes I need, and the ice chest full of ice for cold drinks and things. And then there were HER things. Three bags (not counting her 'purse-case' as I like to call it, clothes, cameras and the like).
About now, youre going back up to the start of this article and thinking "didnt he say it was for just a few days? Yeah, I did, and thats my point. All those 'necessities' of her's and mine. Those things were all important and needed for any overnight stay, right? Maybe. She looked at the packed back seat, with clothes hanging from the back on both sides, the bags of snacks on the floor in the front, her purse and keys alongside. We opened the trunk, and as usual, my bags which are always there 24/7, were in their usual places alongside the small cooler of ice. Laura looked at the trunk and its contents, and then back to the backseat, and the trunk again, then back at me. Oh-oh. I could see what she was thinkin'. I reached in and took out my gym bag and attache case, as she got behind the wheel. The car now backed effortlessly out of the drive, not even dipping to get scratched.
As I stood on the sidewalk with both my bags on either side of me, she rolled down the window. "So, that was it huh?" she said to me. I looked at my bags and back at her and nodded. "Drive carefully!" I said to her as she put the car back into gear. "See you Wednesday?" she asked. "Yeah. I'll be right here!' I mumbled again as she headed off down the street for a nice few days on an island. What a shame that the car was packed so low. The only real baggage making the car heavy was me. Well, you dont expect your wife to unpack or leave anything of hers behind, right? Right. And, she didnt. Oh, she left something behind all right. 2 suitcases and 1 husband.
Oh, how I long for simpler times, when folks had one shirt, one dress, one overalls, one pair of shoes and one coat. You had a horse and you had a carriage. Thats it. None of these modern conveniences or 'trip packages of necessities'. Nope. You fed and watered the horse, hitched up the wagon, threw in your small duffle and maybe grabbed an apple for your pocket. That was all. And, it was fun too. Everyone loves to travel or 'cruise' somewhere for a day or so. Me too. I always did.
My wife had a great time on the island. Maybe next time, I can go too. After all, my bags are still packed.
(*The part about me getting left behind, didnt really happen. I went, and it was great. But, folks. We have got to trim the fat and clutter of things we deem 'necessary' in our lives once in awhile!)
*Special Thanks: Kelly's Island, Middle Bass Island and Put-in-Bay, Team Detroit, the Hurricane Shelter, LA Grizzy, Sonja Paris, Larry Patterson and Treasure Island Gold, Ralph Teranna and Soulful Detroit, and of course..."Lucky" the Wonder Dog!
duanethomas@johnnyandthehurricanes.com
hurricane.duane@atilarecords.com