January 21, 2013
Strategic Packing Was the Secret

Back when I was growing up, the third of three girls and a boy, my family traveled frequently.  Looking back now, I give my parents much-earned credit for their tenacity and courage in loading up the 1963 Chrysler sedan with four kids and hitting the road so often. 

We not only traveled in the summer but winter months as well. We made regular visits to my mom's childhood home, "the Farm", in southern Iowa all year around, and we always took a summer vacation somewhere. 

With a family's worth of stuff to take along, the trunk was always strategically packed in a jigsaw-puzzle fashion by dad who declared that any and all cargo must be sitting on the driveway tarmac at the specified time or risk the fate of being left behind.  I'm sure he wouldn't have completely enforced that dictum and would have eked out one more spot to stow a late-comer in amongst the other baggage.  

He prided himself in his keen knack of being able to stuff 6 suitcases and various other sundries into the moderately-sized car trunk.  Lucky for us, because traveling in those times was much different than it is today. 

    

We, in like fashion, stowed ourselves into the car and our seating arrangement never varied.  Traveling as often as we did, each of us had their own appointed space.  And the atmosphere was territorial, let me tell you.  

My spot was always in the center of the back seat and most often, perched atop the hard hump that ran down the length of the car.  Little brother sat on a peach crate in the front seat between mom and dad.  Sisters flanked me on both sides and I  learned to stay out of their no fly zone lest I be shot down. 

Six or eight hours in a car with those strict regulations could be tedious to say the least. So to pass the time, I read a lot, slept curled up in my personal space, and at night when the rest were snoozing (except for my dad, the driver), I'd enjoy quiet talks with him as the miles rolled along.  

Sometime there was no conversation at all. Together, with me leaning over the middle of the front seat,  we'd listen to late night radio that often featured big band sounds or old time country crooners like Hank Williams or Roy Acuff.  Those are some of the best memories I have and to this day I love the blanket of tranquility that the late night provides.

I still remember visits to our house from my aunt, uncle and cousins who would travel, all nine of them, jammed into a good sized station wagon.  Let me tell you, space was at a premium there. Where they stowed their luggage I have no idea, let alone child #7.  But back then, a station wagon was the ultimate in travel luxury - the closest thing to a sports utility vehicle that there was.  

Today having enough elbow room is not an issue with large, cavernous SUVs available.  Somehow, though it seems, the more room at your fingertips, the more one tends to tote along. There must be a mathematical formula for this but I don't do math as a general rule so I'd have to consult with math instructors Brenda Whitehead or Jim Reed at the high school about that. 

However, there is a good and fast rule that I have picked up but will admit that I don't always adhere to:  when packing for a trip, a cruise or week long vacation of some sort, it's wise to lay everything out that you think you should haul along with you. Then simply remove two thirds of the conglomeration before packing and sealing it into  your suitcase.  

Believe me, you will be  much happier with your lighter load and have that much more room in which to pack souvenirs from your trip.

Back to growing up: my first automobile was a red 1965 Volkswagen Beetle, which I adored and dubbed the "Ladybug".  Together we had many adventures and she not only served me well through my high school days, but accompanied me when I went away to college as well. 

Those of you who are familiar with the early VW's know that winter driving in one was a definite challenge.  You learned to drive with one knee, shift with your elbow and scrape the interior windows, all at the same time.  VW Beetles had no defrost system or what they did have was minimal, so on a frigid January, such as we are in the throes of now, a scraper was a handy, necessary tool.  A copilot was also preferred.

Passenger space in my Beetle was pretty limited, yet still we managed to fit plenty of them inside.  My sisters once toted a car full of people and a bass cello as well, all tucked into the backseat of the Beetle. Where there's a will there's always a way. Luggage was stowed in the vehicle trunk, located in the front of the car.  That is one thing VW did right - fit the tiny little engine into the rear of the car, resulting in a good sized (relatively speaking) trunk in front. 

Times have changed indeed. Traveling with children can be somewhat of a three-ring circus with all of the paraphernalia involved.  Trips are generally much shorter or even limited to day trips.  Visits "home" are fewer and far between as we are connected in ways that we never before were.    Late night radio is filled with automated programming and I beseech you to find any big band or classic country and western tunes being broadcast anywhere on AM radio. 

And despite its cold weather issues, I would love to own a Beetle again.  These days, though, I'd reserve driving it to the summer months.  And maybe I'd take it on a few long trips.  That way there'd be no choice but to limit the stuff that I'd take along with me.