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I bought new luggage today. Well correctly worded... I paid for luggage that my wife went and purchased at Wal*Mart. Now, honestly... I feel like a meth addict every time I buy cheap junk from China at WM. I do. I know buying the cheapest of everything from China can do nothing but harm me (us) in the long run, but I keep purchasing it like an addict, because I can't really afford to purchase the better stuff. Plus I am a bargain shopper to begin with. I always weigh need, quality and cost when I purchase something. And unfortunately, that usually brings me about to Wal*Mart for my "new, cheap purchases". I really wish life were simpler. I wish there was a store that sold everything made from America, that everything it sold was of the best value and that it was comparable (even if more expensive at least comparable) to the cheap junk made from overseas. Then I could just go the the "USA STORE" and purchase what I wanted and not feel like a meth addict, knowing that this pleasure that I have today will cost me in the long run.
The Need:
My luggage (which lasted FAR longer than I ever thought it would when I bought it before) was cheap junk also... and boy was it falling apart. I'll have to post up pictures. The handle is missing to carry the thing, only half of the zipper works and the plastic corners are broken down. Now everywhere that I've taken this suitcase to has been ok with me. I don't normally get too worked up over appearances and like to gauge my possessions and purchases really on NEED. I took suitcase to teen camp down in TN. Everyone who went to grabbed it said, "Hey, there isn't a handle". (Uh, thanks, I never realized that...), but those were people at my church. They know how frugal I like to be. (They also know how much they pay me so the discussion in the past has lead them to just accept me and my "lovably-worn" possessions without much argument..) But now that we are hitting the road for Lord, (Aside: Do you think God is ok with me having Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" running through my head?) I didn't want to embarrass my wife in front of all the other people that tend to look at missionaries and preachers that come to their church like side-show freaks rolling into town with the circus.
The quality:
Let's start off by saying this: I LOVE good quality at a reasonable cost. I KNOW I don't normally get that from items from China but you have to undestand a few things about me and luggage. The first is this, I've never met a duffel bag or backpack I didn't like. Really those are my two main pieces of luggage in most instances. Luggage is something I use if I am traveling on a plane or with my wife. Otherwise even a brown paper bag would do me fine. Luggage is one of those things I buy grudgingly. In my natural state, I am an ultimate utilitarian who believes the old maxim: form follows function. That's why backpacks and duffel bags work for me. In fact I find great joy in packing a backpack... but my wife packs the luggage. When I pack a backpack, it's a challenge. I am going to be carrying that thing and the challenge is to get all that I need in there and secure it so it's tight, comfortable and accessible. All understandable for me. But LUGGAGE demands fashion and looks. Seriously, why is it that we can put a man on the moon before we put wheels on luggage? Well, of course I have a theory to that too... we didn't carry around as much JUNK when we traveled. You weren't expected to have clean clothes all week, you washed them... or you "graduated" on the smell charts.... so luggage quality is minimized in my mind by the fact that I don't fly much and most of my trips are pretty minimilistic (as far as WHAT I travel with). But this changes when you begin deputation. Normally... I don't sleep in other people's houses. Normally... I don't have to have 14 different changes of clothes. Normally... I don't have other people offering to carry my luggage for me... but alas... nothing about deputation is normal.
The cost:
So I ended up buying a "7 piece set" which is really like a 3 roller-bag set with a garment bag, a shoe bag, a toiletries and cosmetics bag and a duffel bag (well at least SOMEONE has some sense over there in Chinaland...). The cost was 69.99. I almost died. Now I KNOW that's a decent price for what we got. Believe me I looked at prices elsewhere.... but still... I have a perfectly good backpack and duffel bag at home. My suitcase... so what if the handle works or not.
The True Cost:
But I have to measure the true cost and that's the cost of traveling long miles in a broken down van with a wife that KNOWS she will be embarrassed at the next church we stop at. I may be cheap... but I ain't stupid.
The Need:
My luggage (which lasted FAR longer than I ever thought it would when I bought it before) was cheap junk also... and boy was it falling apart. I'll have to post up pictures. The handle is missing to carry the thing, only half of the zipper works and the plastic corners are broken down. Now everywhere that I've taken this suitcase to has been ok with me. I don't normally get too worked up over appearances and like to gauge my possessions and purchases really on NEED. I took suitcase to teen camp down in TN. Everyone who went to grabbed it said, "Hey, there isn't a handle". (Uh, thanks, I never realized that...), but those were people at my church. They know how frugal I like to be. (They also know how much they pay me so the discussion in the past has lead them to just accept me and my "lovably-worn" possessions without much argument..) But now that we are hitting the road for Lord, (Aside: Do you think God is ok with me having Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" running through my head?) I didn't want to embarrass my wife in front of all the other people that tend to look at missionaries and preachers that come to their church like side-show freaks rolling into town with the circus.
The quality:
Let's start off by saying this: I LOVE good quality at a reasonable cost. I KNOW I don't normally get that from items from China but you have to undestand a few things about me and luggage. The first is this, I've never met a duffel bag or backpack I didn't like. Really those are my two main pieces of luggage in most instances. Luggage is something I use if I am traveling on a plane or with my wife. Otherwise even a brown paper bag would do me fine. Luggage is one of those things I buy grudgingly. In my natural state, I am an ultimate utilitarian who believes the old maxim: form follows function. That's why backpacks and duffel bags work for me. In fact I find great joy in packing a backpack... but my wife packs the luggage. When I pack a backpack, it's a challenge. I am going to be carrying that thing and the challenge is to get all that I need in there and secure it so it's tight, comfortable and accessible. All understandable for me. But LUGGAGE demands fashion and looks. Seriously, why is it that we can put a man on the moon before we put wheels on luggage? Well, of course I have a theory to that too... we didn't carry around as much JUNK when we traveled. You weren't expected to have clean clothes all week, you washed them... or you "graduated" on the smell charts.... so luggage quality is minimized in my mind by the fact that I don't fly much and most of my trips are pretty minimilistic (as far as WHAT I travel with). But this changes when you begin deputation. Normally... I don't sleep in other people's houses. Normally... I don't have to have 14 different changes of clothes. Normally... I don't have other people offering to carry my luggage for me... but alas... nothing about deputation is normal.
The cost:
So I ended up buying a "7 piece set" which is really like a 3 roller-bag set with a garment bag, a shoe bag, a toiletries and cosmetics bag and a duffel bag (well at least SOMEONE has some sense over there in Chinaland...). The cost was 69.99. I almost died. Now I KNOW that's a decent price for what we got. Believe me I looked at prices elsewhere.... but still... I have a perfectly good backpack and duffel bag at home. My suitcase... so what if the handle works or not.
The True Cost:
But I have to measure the true cost and that's the cost of traveling long miles in a broken down van with a wife that KNOWS she will be embarrassed at the next church we stop at. I may be cheap... but I ain't stupid.
