Melissa and I were out riding around the other evening and I am so glad my friends are patient with me.
“Dude, we’ve gotta stop,” I hollered out.
U-turn was pulled, trash was picked.
Someone down in Columbus Park was getting rid of some luggage. Most of it was lackluster and grubby, but not this little gem:
Dating probably to the late 1960s and in astoundingly pristine condition, this little suitcase (about 18″ tall and 24″ wide, and about 6″ deep) was just too gloriously ugly for me to leave behind. My CamelBack pack has just enough straps and clips that I was able to sling this from my pack and it was small and light enough that I hardly noticed it was back there. And as it turned out, the suitcase was also convenient for toting a container of leftover Vietnamese food back to Melissa’s car. It would have been squashed utterly in one or the other of our backpacks, but in the nice flat suitcase bottom, it rode quite nicely.
The inside is in nice shape, too. No stains or tears and the leatherette hold-down straps aren’t at all chewed up nor is the lingerie pouch stretched out. I don’t think this case saw much service.
Best of all, it doesn’t smell bad in any way. Not basementy, not atticky, and not like the cat pissed on it. It smells a little plasticky and that’s about it. Understandable and completely acceptable.
Plus, doesn’t it look cute with the little “Searsonite” toiletries case I found last summer?
Damn near a matched set of luggage.