"May I assist you with your funny shaped suitcase?"

I'm a bellman. I'm skilled in the art of stacking luggage onto carts and assisting guests to their rooms. I'm good with suitcases of all brands (Briggs & Riley, Lark, Hartman, Samsonite, etc.) and I know just how to handle ice chests and duffle bags, extra pillows, box fans and Kroger bags. The only challenge is sometimes convincing a traveler that my way will probably work out best. They know best how it all fits into the trunk. I know best how it will all fit onto the bellcart. I've dropped two items in fifteen years of doing this. Both times, I was not the person to stack the items.

The first drop was a tin of cookies. It fell from the top and crashed down with a clang onto the marble floor, announcing to the entire lobby that all eyes should be on the bellman. Upon impact, of course, the lid popped off, cookies scattered everywhere, and the aforementioned lid just rolled around comically for what sounded like forever. The second drop was a six-pack of beer that had been added to the cart when I wasn't looking. Right on the edge and ready for exit as soon as I made my first turn. Six bottles of Budweiser on the floor, five of which survived with no damage done. One, however, wasn't as lucky and gave me a nice little mess to clean up. As I recall, the cookie family was pretty cool about it and my tip seemed to arrive unaffected. The Bud drinker also was nice and I remember that she tipped extra generously after we replaced her dropped beers with a six-pack of our own.

On the subject of luggage, I saw a Style Bubble post in Google Reader about some very interesting luggage designs by Sarah Williams, graduate of MA Fashion Artefact. I think I'd enjoy learning how to properly stack some of her elegant work onto a bellcart. Click here to see how they look when opened.