I am going to turn into the Andy Rooney of bloggers; perhaps my blog's title is giving me license to do so? But then isn't that what the blogosphere is all about? Finding a place to hold forth on stuff without making your friends actually listen to you?
My next subject is one that has bugged me for awhile: Why do people carry so much junk with them everywhere they go? The classic example, of course, is packing for a trip. If you're going away for a weekend, you should only need a small duffel bag. Why is it then, that so many people traveling for two nights carry two huge suitcases plus assorted carry-ons? Do they need dozens of choices at each moment? Do they need a coat for each micro-climate? What are they so afraid of?
Where this trend manifests itself most ridiculously is the upper middle class moms with their uber-strollers. It may be just a simple walk to the park but it has the appearance of a sherpa mounting the final assault on K2. The bloated strollers are strapped down with juice boxes, extra sweaters, snacks, diapers, board books, and God knows what else. Probably a musk ox and oxygen canisters.
What to me feels like a suffocating load of junk and an assault on my freedom must feel to most people like safety and security. Okay, I can accept our differences. Except when your giant suitcase has landed on my head because you can't lift it into the overhead compartment or when your stroller on steroids is blocking the way to my latté.
2 comments:
ha! i think i travel fairly light. but i always bring more than i need, mainly because i'm terrified of being caught in a foreign place (well, ok, up north) without the appropriate polar fleece/rain jacket/extra socks....
I came over from Laurie's.
This post made me chuckle. With my first child, I was definitely an offender. I swear, I had everything you could imagine in a big Land's End diaper bag. It's a wonder I didn't break my back lugging that thing around.
Seventeen years and two kids later, I carry as little as possible. It's called survival!
Post a Comment