The Trauma of an Inexperienced Young Flyer

Less Luggage More Comfort makes Travel a Memorable Experience - there are many versions to this age old adage , but never does it lose it's worth . 

When it came to the "planning the travel" , I had an unforgettable experience. Due to the misgivings of my innocence, on how I packed before and after an overseas travel I learnt a quite a few things worth learning for life. Sometimes I used to think , unless I get it out of my system , these thorns will never cease to prick me and here I am. Even before I started out for my long travel ahead, I made a gullible choice to use two of my preexisting trolleys, which I thought should be enough . Some Good Karma,from some day stood by me, as one of my paternal cousins came home for a chance visit and declared how dumb it was to use the trolley I had chosen . God Bless this lady , she drew so much caution on this and beckoned me to her home to give me one of her big 23Kg trolleys, as herself and her partner travel every now and then and they were pretty much amateurs in cross country travel. I scurried over , few days before travel , collected her luggage and came home , only to realize what about the other trolley. Meanwhile, this darling , had called up her elder sister to check if she had another 23kg trolley without me entreating her. When I just picked the phone to see if this elder sister has one, she had herself dialed my number and the first few words out of her mouth -" are you out of your mind, you dumb buffalo" . I felt blessed, as my heart was warm with the scolding of a sibling and also confident that, she might have a solution to my conundrum. She ordered me to come the next day and collect one of her big trolleys , as she had just returned from the USA and this blessed lady also lent me some of her winter wear. It's when times like these, I feel so indebted to God, thanking him for driving me to help someone some day before , all to return and lend me help in the most opportune moments when I least expect it. Good Karma is a True Powerful energy - If you get a chance to be off use to someone, do it with cheerful alacrity and altruistic intentions. Anyways, I collected her stuff, swish swish back home, I frantically stuffed my goods, I weighed them 1008 times to see if it met the luggage restrictions . 16 hours later , I landed in the Windy City during one of its best times of the year - the Summer. Chicago , otherwise is a cold place , at least for a chennaite like me , where I have only seen the Sun dominate all through the year. However, by the magic of God's creation, even my tropical body developed a great resistance and immunity to adjust to the pricking cold and snow of the place , it took a while but it got reset to its newer conditions. How peaceful, our lives will be, if we can muster the strength to bend our mind to adjust according to situations.

After seeing all the 4 seasons of the place, summer , fall, winter, spring, it was time for me to circle back to my home. As in the case of anyone, who likes to put their bills to good use, I had bought a decent number of products for myself and all my closest people , to make them feel special. The last week of my travel . The pandemic situation was already causing too much headache for me, and now a new worry joined forces -To pack my luggages. This last week of stay , was intensely tough for me. Varied emotions, multiple important decisions to be made , communications to be closed apart from the uncomfortable post travel nostalgic blues that were silently pulling the softer sharper strings of my inner self. I was all over the place and all alone. As , I prepared to pack my stuff inside the luggages, I got an immediate trepidation that I am going to over pay. The excess Baggage fees syndrome. I then, made a list of stuff , I should be lending to the locals, the desis who recently traveled into town and started making calls to ensure they will be taking my goods. A few kgs went down after my persistent & valiant efforts resulted in success, as I was able to distribute some of my belongings to people, instead of trashing them . Too much still. I then began to take out all my clothes as my body was sweating profusely, my mind was in emotional shock as I had to keep some clothes out there itself if I had to pack the others. I realized my bad decisions over the past few months. I was imagining myself in each dress , trying to keep the best ones and find a convincing reason to drop one. Ah ..those moments. Then came the gifts. Oh boy, I was stripping all my gifts, naked , throwing away all the cases , boxes , as I was imagining the judgmental expressions of my people when they receive it with no glamour on it. I was hoping, my conduct , my ethics will stand by me and they will understand the stress I went through to make this decision. A huge pile of covers, I had to put these in trash cans , as room service was halted due to the pandemic . The pile of trash accumulated in front of me was the brute reminder of the lesson In progress for me. I weighed again 108 times , realized the excess baggage had to be handled and shelled out dollars to pay to the airline. 

Vroooooom , I am in the airport. I was in a state of blank trance. I didn't know what I should be thinking about as I was nonchalantly moving along the line when the Lady , an Indian, in harsh emotionless tone , announced, Sir, you need to pay 720$ for the excess baggage. I died for a second, and then I asked her, what's the calculation, as I had already paid for excess baggage, only to realize my excess baggage plan was just for one piece. These airline websites are never ever easy or clear to understand their actual policies, and most of the times, we go by popular advice and mercy of the personnel checking-in the baggage. I requested some time, as I helplessly, with all my goods, began to take out my pants, shorts, one book and a list of articles that will bring least economical loss to me. I was praying to the gods, even as I was furious of how naive I had been . Adding to my agony , was when one of the Airline's lady  staff remarked "Aww , I feel so bad, i feel so sorry you had to do this". She murdered the leftover good spirits I was clinging on to , as a bit of self pity is enough for the strong mind to lose wit. I took out some more goods, only to realize I was still over board and with some luck ,I managed to bring down the excess baggage down to 80$ . At the cost of already paying fees for one bag, at the cost of these newly trashed items and all the gift wrappings I sacrificed. Finally , after the payment I was finally through. 

At this moment, I felt , I had literally lost someone in my life. I was in mourning , like I really lost some one. And that someone was my Stupidity. I felt a rush of Karmic lessons. As I was thinking about these chain of incidents ,I closed my enervated eyes out of intense pain, tiredness , hanging on to all my emotional fortitude to not break down , even as the Pilot wished everyone on the flight a happy and safe journey. It was the last flight out of the United States of America to India as India had placed travel bans from the next day. 

Once in a while, when I share some good memories on social media and someone comments out of their own insecurity , judge me , thinking I am boasting of my travel , I mentally frown with such intense anger , at them , at their apathy  , as they don't know what I went through. 

Before you judge someone for the good things, they seem to have,you should also make an effort to understand what they lost to get there. 

I have moved on,  I learnt my lessons and I am now a stronger man who lost things to gain what I have today.

Help yourself, Heal yourself....

Stay Well !