My black beauty retired

Me and my big black bag are inseparable. We have crossed several lands and seas together. In fact my bag is like my royal steed. I use it as my everyday office bag, for heavy shopping, trips; my all purpose XXL sized 'throw the whole world in' remedy for all ocassions. In pain and joy, rain and shine we have seen so much together. But everything changed last weekend. This is what happened.



I make this weekly visit to Aldi every Saturday for my grocery needs, of course with my black beauty. This week as I was shopping, I wedged my way through two sections and hit a pile of boxes with my bag making a big mess (this is normal, the big brute is of good use in a crowd as well..:D). But a Dutch guy spotted me at it ( darn! ) and struck conversation with me while I was clearing it up. He spoke to me for a while in Dutch. I tried my best to pass off the conversation without acknowledging that I din't quite understand all that he said, but it failed miserably. Turns out the guy was the reverend of a church in Eindhoven. He even invited me to the BBQ the church committee held that evening. I politely refused and as he moved on, he grinned and suggested that I should perhaps get a smaller bag. Ah! the nerves of that man to insult royalty! :P

I packed in as much as I could and moved on to the billing queue and there again without fail, I nudged a man approaching the queue from the other side with my bag (Miss Klutz in full form!). He dropped some of his stuff and he was nice enough to let me go ahead in the line without complaint. I forgot about the whole incident soon. Monday came and I was zipping my way to office on my bike, when suddenly I heard some one yell a big "Hi" from behind and ask me how I was doing? I was confused! I did not recognize the person at all and apologized to him asking who he was. He laughed aloud and said he was the guy whom I had bumped into at Aldi and he had recognized me from behind by my bag!!!! I gave him my big sheepish grin and waved good bye.

I bought myself a new bag that evening. Smaller! Much smaller! Well, with the divine intervention and all that, what else could I do.