meisa's lagoon

when i was in new orleans, i was training my nephew (it feels a little weird still to say that. i might have to come up with a different name.) to appreciate eddie bauer bags from an early age. luckily, he got the chance to see my magical eddie bauer bag before its demise.
some might have called it an ordinary duffel bag, but this thing was magic. it fit EVERYTHING. i could just keep shoving stuff in there, and it seemed to continually expand. and the best part was that it was smooshable. this feature made me able to always use it as a carry-on bag. i loved my magic duffel.
i waited with eager anticipation at the united baggage claim when i returned from my trip. while i could have carried the bag on (thanks to its smooshability), with new TSA regulations, i thought it best to check the bag. but i definitely should have carried it on. as my magic bag slowly made its way onto the baggage carousel, i noticed that there was something horribly wrong. its innards were falling out. the baggage handlers put a giant rip through the heart of my magic bag.
the guys at united offered me a replacement. some crappy non-eddie bauer bag. he claimed it was about equivalent to my bag. hardly. i scoffed at the offer and walked away, lovingly carrying my magic eddie bauer bag. if it is as magical as i believe, it should be able to self-heal.