A Short History Lesson

I posted this picture on my Facebook page last Thursday as I set off for the convention I attend every year. It was with a certain amount of chagrin that I remarked that I was pretty sure the passengers on the Mayflower founded a new nation with less luggage than I was taking to a three-day convention.

May I say a word in defense of my pre-convention packing?

• The "big" suitcase is a carry-on overhead bag, not a full-sized suitcase. It is filled with clothes, because this is the kind of convention where you could possibly change for a banquet. 
• The other piece of luggage contains only one spare pair of shoes and my ditty bag. (Does anyone else call it this? Or is that a family thing because my dad was in the Navy?) The ditty bag, I will admit, is not small. I am past the age where I wake up in the morning bright-eyed and fresh-faced, and the contents of this bag are used to manufacture the completely false impression that I do. 
• The next bag contains convention-appropriate paraphernalia (think schedules, paperwork). All right--it also contains my knitting. And a book. And my iPad. I WILL NOT BE BORED. 
• The blue bag is full of music. All music. Because I am semi-competent but willing, and I agreed to be the convention pianist. What was I thinking?
• And in front is my purse. 

This may or may not look like a lot of stuff to you. The Pilgrims, I'm sure, would think it excessive. (They didn't even have three kinds of moisturizer back then, and I'm pretty sure they wore the same pair of buckled shoes with every outfit.)

But nay! It is not excessive compared to how I arrived home from the convention. I give you the back end of Pearl post-weekend:

Not only did I return with everything I took to convention, I also was in charge of transporting displays, easels, and other paraphernalia that will be used at next year's convention. People, I had to RECLINE THE SEATS to be able to get everything home.

The Pilgrims avoided this dilemma by founding Jamestown, and now we know that they endured deprivation, pestilence, starvation, and disease just so they wouldn't have to pack everything back onto the ship. History might have been changed entirely if the Mayflower had been equipped with reclining seats.

But I bet their skin was like leather.