Carry-On Rules

Rule: One small piece of luggage, one personal item. TSA's rules for carry-on luggage deem this the maximum allowance per passenger for safe traveling and this is more than enough. However, as of late increasingly more passengers are trying to board their flights with medium size luggage, additional personal items and the list goes on and on. The violators have made the plane boarding experience a fete for those like myself who follow the rules and just need to store one bag overhead and a personal item under my seat. trying to board my plane with more than the maximum allowance. I mean how are these people NOT getting flagged by the gate agents for their egregious behavior? 


The older I get the more life is beginning to resemble the airplane boarding process, except I'm the plane and the men I encounter are the rule breaking passengers. Were people just really great at concealing their baggage when we were younger/in college or has the amount of baggage just increased exponentially? I'm so serious about this, there are people walking around looking like the Great Migration with all the baggage they're carrying. Is the art of packing light totally lost on my generation? In my recent dating exploits I have encountered more than my fair share of 'bag men'. I will admit, these men have had some really great baggage; I'm talking comparable to Gucci duffles, Louis Vuitton weekenders. These bags would be fine if they were within the one piece of luggage and one personal item rules but alas, they are not. This is in addition to hectic work schedules, busy personal lives and being geographically undesirable.


At the boarding gate theyre all smiles and compliance while secretly hiding extra bags like a set of nesting bowls. As soon as the rule breakers receive clearance to board the plane bags materialize from thin air. But what do I do?  Do i land and put them off or do i keep the plane up and pray for no turbulence or crashes? Its sticky because these days im only boarding planes with one personal item- my purse filled with the bare necessities; is it wrong to want the same? I'm sure the decision wouldn't be so tough if I was dealing with jerks and a-holes. That is not the case. I'm dealing with educated men who can't pack light to save their own lives! 


I used to land the plane and put them off ASAP, lately I have been letting them linger. You would do the same if the last three men you dated all had some extra bag of sorts. Besides, if things have made it to the point where the bag-man can board the plane things have been pretty smooth thus far and the bags haven't effected the journey...yet. At some point that extra baggage may rear its ugly head leading to dangerous turbulence or a crash. We can't prepare for what we can't see, so here are a few signs that your passenger(s) is hiding some contraband.
         
1.)     He/She is always busy.
2.)     They won't go out on 'school nights' (i.e. Sun-Thurs).
3.)     He/She always comes to your house and you're never invited to theirs. (He/She could be married, a hoarder or homeless...lol)
4.)     You always have to pay or your dates don't cost any money.   


We all have two choices, strictly adhere to the 'Carry-On Rules' or prepare for a bumpy ride and a tough landing.