Your luggage allocation is severely compromised, son
An out of the ordinary evening for me; I went to school. Not in the traditional sense, though. Instead, I returned to a classroom for one of those dreaded “information for parents” sessions, where you pick up five minutes worth of information in fifty-five minutes. On second thought, not that different from the way I remember school when I had a legal requirement to show up five days a week.
Son #3 is about to take his first real excursion into the outside world. To Cuba, no less. No, he’s not going to get browner on a beach; he will also be attending school in one of those once in a lifetime opportunities. A visit to a real residential school in the interior, with a chance to get out in the fields and meet people that aren’t seeking a tip for being pleasant with strangers.
There’s one small rub, and every traveling tourist faces a similar dilemma. What should you pack, given size and weight restrictions on the baggage quota. Because, given that this is an educational trip, he’ll have to include his musical instrument in the allocation. And, like his father before him, the instrument is a member of the tuba family.
The euphonium: lovely to hear, lovely to see, hateful to carry. Too large to travel on our school bus, for example. But, in company with people that get to pack flutes or clarinets, he’ll trundle a “wee bit of brass” on and off the airplane. To get around the obvious logistical difficulty, I have a suggestion. Kid, pack your socks and shirts in the bell. Then, backfill around the valves with the unmentionables. If life presents you with hardshell luggage, make the best of your situation.
