Suitcase

You would think a suitcase wouldn’t be that hard to find.

The suitcase in question is intended as a Christmas gift for my 20-year-old daughter, Beth, who is currently living in my basement.

Before you jump to conclusions and assume that my wife and I were planning to give the suitcase and a notso- subtle hint about Beth’s needing to move out, I should explain that she is only living in my basement over her winter break and will be heading back to school at the end of next month. Besides if we wanted to send a hint she should move out we would be far less subtle about it.

The suitcase, actually isn’t going to be used for clothes at all, but rather to hold a collection of brushes, paints and other assorted artsy stuff that my daughter has accumulated over the past few years after discovering a passion for making art projects.

During Beth’s first semester at college, she and her roommate would attend various make and take events sponsored by university groups doing things like painting coffee mugs and the other types of arts and crafts that require more enthusiasm than fine-honed skill.

Over the past few years, Beth has amassed a collection of arts and craft stuff and needed a better place to store and cart them around than the battered box she has been using. Since it is increasingly hard to find gifts for my children in a price range that doesn’t require the sale of a kidney, we latched onto getting something to help keep her painting stuff organized.

After beginning a search and being overwhelmed by the variety and price tags on the various craft supply containment systems, I asked an artist friend about what she recommended. She suggested checking out thrift stores for old make-up travel cases, noting that she had used one for years as a young artist embellishing it along the way with her artistic flair. I could immediately picture the type of bag. It seemed like everyone had an aunt or grandmother with one, my mother’s was a unhealthy shade of green and was an otherwise unwieldy hard-sided case that opened at the top allowing access to the cosmetics and such inside. Since it was designed to allow cosmetics to stand upright, it would be perfect for the dozens of tubes of paint.

Saturday morning found my wife and I cruising around Circle of Faith looking for such a bag. We were ultimately unsuccessful in finding the particular type of bag I wanted, but instead found an equally funky compact hard-sided blood red suitcase which at under $3 was a steal. It is the type of suitcase you could never lose on an airport baggage claim even if you wanted to. As an added bonus the chain for the luggage keys included a St. Christopher’s Medal, which is always good to have around.

Like many people, my holiday will be a virtual one this year. We have a Zoom call planned with my brothers and sisters for Christmas day. With us spread across four states and three time zones, getting together virtually is actually easier than trying to get all in one place, even without taking into account restrictions on large indoor gatherings currently in place in New Jersey. The pandemic also forced us to forego our usual Christmas visit to Racine to see my wife’s family, which means my coworkers must face the new year without being fortifi ed by fresh kringle from O& H Bakery.

However you are celebrating the holiday season this year, I hope you are able to have a Merry Christmas and safe, healthy and happy New Year.

Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News.