Farewell, Old Friend
I had to say a sad goodbye to my most faithful traveling companion of the last 15ish years. One who's been with me to several countries, two continents, many states and countless trips. One who never complained about being abused, being forced to squish into small spaces, getting rained on, being used as a pillow nor having to carry lots and lots of stuff including my jacket, purse and computer.
I bought this classic to replace an almost exact same one that was stolen out of my residence four places ago. Someone broke in, dumped its items then used it to carry out the contents of my ring drawer and my rock CD's from A through K. Jerks. The only difference between the two was that the first was a green plaid. I loved that one but I grew to love this one, too.
With only three pockets, there was plenty of space for all of my gear while allowing it to be crammed under the airplane seat in front of me while retaining plenty of foot room for me. I carried it over my right shoulder from car to plane to plane to car to train to boat to light rail. The years of the shoulder carry took its toll and I decided to retire it before all of those well meaning people who told me the strap was about to break were proven true.
While I had intended on replacing it, my friend's new Captain America backpack pushed me to do it. His wife bought it for him on Amazon as a Christmas present and it's super cool. I searched for the same one on Amazon but only found one about half as cool. I also considered, sadly, that walking around in other countries with very visible American flag decorations was to invite being a potential target. Yes, I said that was sad. Sad that I thought that and sad that it could be the case.
After looking at what felt like 100 backpacks and computer bags, I settled on one. The selling points were that it had reinforced straps, a specific computer pocket to make airport security easier and it was in purple. My favorite color is purple so there you go. I felt relieved to make that really informed decision and ordered it up on Prime.
However, because it's me there's more to the story. It was supposed to get delivered on Sunday and sure enough, I got a ding on my phone that it had been delivered. I hadn't heard a knock on the door so I opened it to see if it were there. Nope. I then looked out my back patio door to see if they'd put it there. Nope.
Since this was the day after my great athletic triumph, I was recovering in my jammies when I got the notice so showered and dressed before heading out on a search and rescue expedition. I checked my mailbox (end delivery was supposed to be by USPS), my back gate and the front of my neighbor's place with no success. I've had "early" delivery notices before so I decided to wait until Monday night to see if showed up before reporting it. However, that was MLK day so no mail which required another day of wait and still no backpack.
I have to give it to Amazon. I emailed them that, despite the delivery notice, I didn't have my item and they immediately refunded me the amount while explaining that it was a third party seller so they couldn't replace it but if I wanted to order another one from them, they would wave any shipping.
Fast forward to that Saturday when, in the midst of my cooking triumph, I heard a knock on my door. Standing there was a guy I'd never seen before but he said he was my neighbor from the other side of the building and that a package for me had been delivered to him. He said, "Sorry, I've had it for a day or two." More like six days, dude. Whatevs, I was just happy to have it and thanked him for bringing it over.
I finally opened the Amazon box tonight and moved all of the old backpack's contents to the new one. There are so many pockets (I'm not sure I've found them all, eight, maybe?) that I'm sure I'll never find anything on the first try. It's also got a lot of padding so it won't condense as much but, the straps look sturdy so I'm sure I'll enjoy my new traveling companion for many years to come.
RIP, Jansport.
PS I emailed Amazon and asked them to recharge my card. They thanked me for my honesty, said they were happy I got my item and told me to keep it as a goodwill gesture as they won't charge me again. That is how you get and keep loyal customers.
 |
| Sniff, sniff. Good thing you always had a tissue for me because I needed it. |
I bought this classic to replace an almost exact same one that was stolen out of my residence four places ago. Someone broke in, dumped its items then used it to carry out the contents of my ring drawer and my rock CD's from A through K. Jerks. The only difference between the two was that the first was a green plaid. I loved that one but I grew to love this one, too.
With only three pockets, there was plenty of space for all of my gear while allowing it to be crammed under the airplane seat in front of me while retaining plenty of foot room for me. I carried it over my right shoulder from car to plane to plane to car to train to boat to light rail. The years of the shoulder carry took its toll and I decided to retire it before all of those well meaning people who told me the strap was about to break were proven true.
 |
| The final tear was inevitable. |
While I had intended on replacing it, my friend's new Captain America backpack pushed me to do it. His wife bought it for him on Amazon as a Christmas present and it's super cool. I searched for the same one on Amazon but only found one about half as cool. I also considered, sadly, that walking around in other countries with very visible American flag decorations was to invite being a potential target. Yes, I said that was sad. Sad that I thought that and sad that it could be the case.
After looking at what felt like 100 backpacks and computer bags, I settled on one. The selling points were that it had reinforced straps, a specific computer pocket to make airport security easier and it was in purple. My favorite color is purple so there you go. I felt relieved to make that really informed decision and ordered it up on Prime.
However, because it's me there's more to the story. It was supposed to get delivered on Sunday and sure enough, I got a ding on my phone that it had been delivered. I hadn't heard a knock on the door so I opened it to see if it were there. Nope. I then looked out my back patio door to see if they'd put it there. Nope.
Since this was the day after my great athletic triumph, I was recovering in my jammies when I got the notice so showered and dressed before heading out on a search and rescue expedition. I checked my mailbox (end delivery was supposed to be by USPS), my back gate and the front of my neighbor's place with no success. I've had "early" delivery notices before so I decided to wait until Monday night to see if showed up before reporting it. However, that was MLK day so no mail which required another day of wait and still no backpack.
I have to give it to Amazon. I emailed them that, despite the delivery notice, I didn't have my item and they immediately refunded me the amount while explaining that it was a third party seller so they couldn't replace it but if I wanted to order another one from them, they would wave any shipping.
Fast forward to that Saturday when, in the midst of my cooking triumph, I heard a knock on my door. Standing there was a guy I'd never seen before but he said he was my neighbor from the other side of the building and that a package for me had been delivered to him. He said, "Sorry, I've had it for a day or two." More like six days, dude. Whatevs, I was just happy to have it and thanked him for bringing it over.
 |
| It will never be the same but it will still be good. |
I finally opened the Amazon box tonight and moved all of the old backpack's contents to the new one. There are so many pockets (I'm not sure I've found them all, eight, maybe?) that I'm sure I'll never find anything on the first try. It's also got a lot of padding so it won't condense as much but, the straps look sturdy so I'm sure I'll enjoy my new traveling companion for many years to come.
RIP, Jansport.
PS I emailed Amazon and asked them to recharge my card. They thanked me for my honesty, said they were happy I got my item and told me to keep it as a goodwill gesture as they won't charge me again. That is how you get and keep loyal customers.
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