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It was time. Hell, it was way past time. It's just sitting there in the basement getting dustier. I got a lot of use out of her, both in the Air Force and as a civilian. It wasn't my original one. I turned in my Yokota one back in 1963, because I was getting out. After I came back in, I got another one which I kept until I retired. When I retired, I only had one piece of "real" luggage, one of those hard suitcases which weighed a ton. Got rid of that years ago. I also had an A3 bag and my B4 bag. Still have both of them. They came in mighty handy after I got out. Hell, when I was still in I went to Oz for a month and only brought the A3 bag. Used that as a laundry bag for years when I was a bachelor.
But, I haven't used the B4 bag for years now. Used to use it all the time crisscrossing the country visiting friends from California to Florida. After I got married, Jo-Ann bought me one of those pieces of luggage with wheels on it. I even got to like it and stopped using my B4 bag. Too heavy to carry I thought. Well, yesterday I looked at that dust covered bag, just taking up space and decided I'd get rid of it. Friday is trash day in our neighborhood. I usually put out the trash just before I retire but last night I put some out earlier because it was due to rain hard, which it did. I decided I'd still put the recyclables out just before I went to bed. Which I did. I saw my old trusty B4 bag out there, getting wet. I started thinking about that bag, how many holds it had been in, how trusty it had been for me, how many countries she'd been to. How many memories. I took it out of the rain, up the steps and left it on the porch. Today, I brought it back in, back to the basement where I cleaned her up. Need to grease the zippers though.
She looks damned good. I think I'll start using her again.