luggage lesson

when i arrived home from my dc trip i checked a suitcase. the sister had sent me home with a ton of clothes that no longer fit her - score for me. anyway, i needed to check a bag. i don't like to do this and have a small suitcase that qualifies as carryon so i can avoid such situations. oh well, it was worth it to get 4 new pair of pants/capris/shorts. so as i was waiting for my suitcase the carousel suddenly stopped. what a nuisance! i waited for a bit wondering/worrying about long it was taking. then i decided to be proactive and look at the other side to see if it had been spit out already. it had! there it was! i quickly grabbed the handle and turned around only to have all the contents of my suitcase fall out on the carousel. what an embarassment! luckily the underwears were in a zipped pocket so that wasn't adding to my pain. just as i discovered the mess the intercom announced, "the carousel will resume in 10 seconds." some woman helped me grab everything and plop it in my suitcase on the ground. i managed to get it zipped up - only one of the zippers had broken but the other still worked. i was so relieved! when i told the story to my friend he pointed out that if the carousel had not been stopped my things would have been strewn all over and rotating around for everyone to see and i'd have to chase after them. so the annoying "broken" aspect turned out to be a blessing! there's the lesson for you. a curse may really be a blessing when viewed with hindsight.