My Life With Three Carry-Ons

I drive to work now. And, stay over during the week. That’s a big change for Jammahs. I’m used to sitting calmly in the back of Vital as I’m driven to LGA, printing my boarding pass from the eTicket Kiosk, standing patiently in line at TSA and waiting at the gate for boarding while reading the NY Times and sipping an iced latte—all before 7am. Ok, ok, the truth is, I’m chronically late--especially after my Monday morning snoozes. So that routine becomes freakin’ out on Vital to drive faster to LGA, begging the Gate Agent to let me print my boarding pass, silently cursing the Travel Rookies for not knowing to take their belt and shoes off, and sprinting to the Gate with my two carry-ons in tow just as the jet bridge door is shutting.

This morning though, I avoided all of that. I’m on my own schedule. Captain Jammahs is in control of take-off and landing. No Co-Pilot necessary. No Flight Attendants. No cross check. No instruction on how to inflate the life preserver located under my seat. No confirmation necessary that I'm capable of handling my Exit Row duties. No Exit Row. No change in cabin pressure. There’s no worry of head winds or tail winds or overflowing aircraft lavatories or storm clouds or de-icing the plane or waiting for catering. No waiting for a gate to open. It's just Jammahs on the open road.

(Jammahs’ note: I realize that I’m not actually carrying-on, but I will continue to refer to Briggs & Riley and friends as carry-ons.)

My Life With Three Carry-Ons has a whole different feel. Yes, THREE carry-ons. Now that I’m driving, I’m not longer bound to the TSA restrictions or to overhead bin size. I’m free. It made packing on the dreadful Impending Doom Sunday so much easier. First things first--I expanded Briggs & Riley. I then threw a whole lot of suits and sweater sets in without any real thought involved. I just kept piling on clothes and shoes until I reached the top. The shoes! I have so many shoes with me...brown, black, flats, heels, flip flops, sneakers...it’s so exciting! My second carry-on has what I like to label the “risky items”--the items that make me worry when packed near nice clothes in Briggs & Riley, so they all got their own separate bag: liquid toiletries like perfume, B&B product, gym sneakers, etc. And, my third carry-on is my laptop bag. The thing is though, next week I may have four carry-ons. And, the week after, hey, I may even have five carry-ons. There's no limit.

The drive wasn’t bad, at least not on day one. It took about 3.5 hours door to door. I didn’t miss the turbulence or the talkers or TSA. I did miss being able to close my eyes and catch up on sleep instead of reading signs that say “Be Alert. Heavy Truck Traffic.” Trucks are scary. And, I missed making fun of the Rookies. And, I admit it; I missed the thrill of seeing if the Avis Wizard upgrades me. That always makes Monday mornings a tad bit more exciting.

I won’t be earning miles on an airline, but I’ll definitely be traveling a whole lot of miles on the road. If you see Jammahs on I78 from NYC to PA, make sure to honk your horn and give a little wave. Look for me in the right lane.