I travel every week. And I like to take lots of reading material with me. For the last several years, I've used the tote bag I got at the 98 NMRA National Convention to carry my magazines, catalogs, sales flyers, and whatnot. Recently, though, I noticed it was looking a little tattered. Unfortunately, my wife noticed it also.
"You're not going to stick that RATTY looking THING in the car again, are you?" she said somewhat forcefully last Thursday morning as I was loading the car.
"Well.... yes," I replied. "What's wrong with it?"
It's just HIDEOUS! That's what's wrong with it! Have you even LOOKED at it recently? That corner is ripped, the straps are FILTHY, you've got Coke and coffee stains on it. And some kind of grease...or maybe mustard.. Well, it's time to RETIRE that thing," she concluded even more forcefully than before.
"Well, what am I supposed to use?" I aksed, figuring I'd really trumped her with the question.
"I don't care," she replied in calm measured tones, "Use a grocery sack if you have to. Just replace THAT with SOMETHING!"
Obviously, that was the end of the discussion. So this morning I went to Michaels and bought a new canvas tote bag for $2.99. It was plain jane. It had no character or "life" to it that I could see. In short, I knew I couldn't live with it like it was. I had to do something.
So I dug through my "gallery" of railroad graphics and printed one out on an iron-on transfer sheet. The result is what you see below.
The new bag is now acceptable.
As for the old bookbag, well, it's been retired... sort of. I put it in the trunk of my wife's car. It's waiting there, lurking...
As I said, this whole thing was a silly little project.
"You're not going to stick that RATTY looking THING in the car again, are you?" she said somewhat forcefully last Thursday morning as I was loading the car.
"Well.... yes," I replied. "What's wrong with it?"
It's just HIDEOUS! That's what's wrong with it! Have you even LOOKED at it recently? That corner is ripped, the straps are FILTHY, you've got Coke and coffee stains on it. And some kind of grease...or maybe mustard.. Well, it's time to RETIRE that thing," she concluded even more forcefully than before.
"Well, what am I supposed to use?" I aksed, figuring I'd really trumped her with the question.
"I don't care," she replied in calm measured tones, "Use a grocery sack if you have to. Just replace THAT with SOMETHING!"
Obviously, that was the end of the discussion. So this morning I went to Michaels and bought a new canvas tote bag for $2.99. It was plain jane. It had no character or "life" to it that I could see. In short, I knew I couldn't live with it like it was. I had to do something.
So I dug through my "gallery" of railroad graphics and printed one out on an iron-on transfer sheet. The result is what you see below.
The new bag is now acceptable.
As for the old bookbag, well, it's been retired... sort of. I put it in the trunk of my wife's car. It's waiting there, lurking...
As I said, this whole thing was a silly little project.
