I have two old suitcases in my apartment. I have stacked one on top of the other, making for a side table of sorts. I love luggage. Being able to incorporate that love into my everyday life when I am not traveling, even if it is a side table, helps keep travel close to me.
Found at a second hand store, one of the old suitcases that acts as a table is perfectly peach. It still has the former owner’s luggage tag attached to the handle. “Lois” I imagine had some adventures with this bag. Maybe she didn’t, but my imagination can’t think otherwise. A woman who was able to pull off a peach suitcase with magenta cloth interior had to have a spirit for travel. You just don’t see that color, shape or style at the baggage claim everyday.
After a year filled with travel, I am faced with another year of travel. And strangely enough, I am inspired by that peach suitcase I walk past every day. There is one element that holds back my inspiration, money. I don’t have oodles of cash flowing out of my pockets to travel. I think that is what keeps most of us at home. While I have found you can travel quite modestly, even in Europe of all places, I am still in those saving stages for the next great redheaded adventure.
Attached to Lois’ former travel companion is a penny encased in silver. A phrase surrounds the penny, “Keep me and never go broke”. I think Lois had the right idea about travel. She kept this penny attached her suitcase, a bag that she must have traveled with, near and far. Travel, I imagine, for Lois embodied that attitude. You don’t need much to be rich when you travel, making it clear why this simple saying was attached to her suitcase.
As I fight my bank account and resist purchasing plane tickets on a whim, I am drawn to that peach suitcase and its wealth of wisdom. Wear and tear appear through the peach color, reminding me, Lois traveled with a mere penny and she traveled well.
I don’t think I am alone in hesitating to travel due to costs. For some, it can be student loans. For others it is the everyday expenses that prevent travel. Then again, it could be that hestiation is merely not aided with the right inspiration. For me, that inspiration today comes not from reading about travel, not from flipping through photos, but rather from a worn down suitcase that wasn’t even my own. Seeing travel everyday, being reminded that Lois traveled and with very little keeps me inspired that enough money will come so that I can be enriched by travel yet again.
I wonder what kind of traveler Lois was and where her suitcase has been. Old luggage is often hard for me to give up. I keep thinking, “That thing has been to Europe and back. How can I give it up?” That bag of security is with you in your times of triumph and sorrow while you travel. Maybe it is stolen, lost or damaged in the process. And in that process, luggage is a lot like the traveler. You could be lost and damaged, battered and bruised, but open you up and there are stories within, photos to show, mementos that make the process of travel all the more enriching. Your bank account may have taken a few bullets for that trip, but in the end you are a worn down suitcase that has been lucky, enriched and all the wiser by travel.
For those who don’t have a Lois and her suitcase in your life, I give you these words of wisdom to write on your luggage tag. “Keep me and never go broke”. If you have little money to travel, you will find much more on the other end of where that suitcase takes you. All I need is a suitcase to push me out the door and a peach one is doing a good job so far.
Great saying on the penny… it’s cute and true at the same time. Can’t yourself completely broke if you at least keep a penny with you. My travel inspiration comes from a row of LP guidebooks I have on shelf next to my front door — those are what push me out of the door 🙂
EXCELLENT post, I must say! It is just Monday morning and I am already feeling inspired for the week ahead. Thanks so much for sharing. Now I too, am wondering about Lois and her travels.
Gorgeous post! I’m obsessed with vintage luggage and I’m looking for some to use in my wedding. Where are you going in 2011?
Hopefully everywhere. Over the next few months, probably Ireland though. I know, I love the vintage luggage. What a great idea to use it at your wedding! I hope to see pictures Andi!
I think Lois would be proud to know that you are the inheritor of her suitcase.
I love the look of vintage suitcases, so classy, but I can’t imagine traveling without wheels on my suitcase or a soft carry-on! Maybe I’m just lazy but I really appreciate new travel conveniences!
Where does everyone find these awesome vintage suitcases? I guess I haven’t really been looking, but geez–they’re awesome! I adore that penny tag.
Also, my friend did the same thing as a side table: http://wheremyheartresides.com/2010/08/16/make-it-monday-suitcase-table/
Isn’t that adorable?
Love the suitcase side table. Your friend and I have very similar looking apartments. I found both at a second hand store for like $20.
Lovely story! I love old suitcases. Each one has this aura of mystery and experience. If only they could talk! I imagine the stories each could tell would be amazing! It’s too bad that most of the more modern ones are so dull. I find that it helps me save for my next trip by planning well in advance. If you’re saving for a specific trip, it’s much easier to forgo other things.
I love antiques in general because you know they each have a story to tell. I think it’s wonderful that you’ve inherited Lois’ old suitcase and are continuing its legacy of travel.
I LOVE this post! I used to love antiques, but most of them are gone now, sold to fund something or other, but I especially love travel antiques! My mind is running riot right now with the possibilities of who Lois was and to where she travelled!!! Do you have any idea of its age?
I’m thinking it is from the 40s-50s. With a name like Lois, I imagine she was traveling around that time. I would love to know all of the travel stories as well.
Great use of luggage, when we get a home I reckon I’ll get some similar things, it’s lovely to think of all th different adventures those suitcase have already been! Maybe you should take one with you on your next trip – better than any regular suitcase! 🙂
Great story! You’re such a good writer. I used to live near a vintage clothing store and often bought circle skirts and taffeta gowns (circa 1940-1950s) that once belonged to a woman named “Rose.” Her name was marked on all her pieces. I always liked to imagine her life and wonder a little that we were the exact same measurements.