Thursday, May 28, 2009




Theme Thursday: Suitcase

I once knew a man who flew to England and back several times a year. Unfortunately, he was more than a little absent-minded. His family delighted in telling me (and anyone who would listen) about the time that my friend, freshly arrived for a two-week stay in England, opened his suitcase at a London hotel and found nothing in it but books and a trombone. From then on, his efficient wife packed for both of them.

There have certainly been many suitcases in my life. I have moved a lot, and I have traveled a lot. As time goes by, I find that my suitcases grow fewer - and smaller. A few years ago, I even managed to pack for three weeks in England while staying within the 25-lb. luggage allowance of one of our local float plane operators. The laptop I was using at the time weighed ten pounds, so that left fifteen pounds for all my clothing and toiletries.

But if I did want to give my biceps a little more exercise (and pay lots of excess baggage charges), I could add this item to my luggage. I could use it for getting around in airports, and it would be really handy to have along on our narrowboat journeys. Presenting: the Suitcase Bike. I think it's a great idea.


Or - I suppose I could bring along a suitcase sturdy enough to double as furniture, like the one Clark Gable used in "It Happened One Night". Look at that monster. Remember when suitcases were as big as armchairs and didn't have wheels?




That brings me to the end of my presentation. I will leave you with a poignant song - the first image, in fact, that came to my mind when I saw that the theme for this Thursday would be suitcase. From Evita, "Another Suitcase in Another Hall".

14 comments:

Barb said...

I used to have something called " the suitcase of death" that weighed 20lbs on its own. It was quite aggressive too - I had a lot of bruises from that thing!

The bike idea is a good one.

Reya Mellicker said...

Nice! I love "It Happened One Night" - I can watch it over and over again.

One of my recurring nightmares is about having to pack and repack a giganto suitcase.

Luggage scares me!

Unknown said...

A great compendium on the suitcase theme-- I always think it's a good thing to be able to travel light! Like Reya, I adore "It Happened One Night," & I used to listen to "Evita" all the time-- the Broadway show recording. It has some kind of poignant associations for me.

Anonymous said...

Lovely song, Sandra. I like to travel light too. Cool bike!

Sandra Leigh said...

Good morning to Barb, Reya and John. Whats weird is that last night, when I finished pre-posting, I turned on the television - and there was "It Happened One Night". So cool. "Young people in lo-o-o-ve are very seldom hungry."

Sandra Leigh said...

Hey, Kimmi - that bike is tempting, though I've become quite spoiled by using the float planes to get to the airport in Vancouver. The company with which we've flown lately has a 50 lb. weight limit, rather than 25, but still...I wonder how much the suitcase bike weighs.

Kat Mortensen said...

That's a great song! I have "The Premiere Collection" by Lloyd-Webber and this is one of my favourites.

I watched "It Happened One Night" for the first time only a few months ago. I loved every single minute of it - especially hearing the song, "The Man on the Flying Trapeze" in its entirety (on the bus trip). My husband bought me the dvd.

Bike in a suitcase? I can't see it.

Kat

Sandra Leigh said...

Kat, I heard a long time ago that it was "It Happened One Night" that inspired (many) American men to stop wearing undershirts.

As for the bike, I showed the video to my husband, who said it looked ideal for light plane operators. Yeah. Taxi to a halt on the runway, pull out your bicycase (my word. copyright Sandra) and pedal away. Cool.

Debbie said...

Loving that whole bike.
So, I'm wondering where that guy stayed that he could play his trombone?

Sandra Leigh said...

Debbie, I don't know that he could play his trombone. I never heard him play. He was a sociologist. ;>)

California Girl said...

Barbara Dickson sounds like Judy Collins. I've never heard of her but I'm impressed with her voice.

Sandra Leigh said...

California Girl, I had never heard of Barbara Dickson, either. I went looking for the song, and most of the videos on YouTube were Madonna's performances. I've always been annoyed at Madonna's (Evita's) being given that number in the movie, because in the stage play, Another Suitcase was sung by a different character. I happened upon Barbara Dickson's performance, and I'm glad I did. I love the song.

The Clever Pup said...

Have you ever seen steamer trunks. Like a wardrobe on wheels.

I love your message in the sand banner and below Helen Mirren looks absolutely fabulous.

lettuce said...

books and a trombone - thats funny

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