By JORDAN ASIMES ‘18
You may have seen it being dragged up and down the stairs, or being filmed on a senior’s snapchat story. It may have made you question your existence entirely, or maybe, just maybe, it inspired you to be a better version of yourself. I am of course talking about the strawberry red carry-on bag that has been roaming the halls of Saint Ignatius early this fall semester.
I’ll set the scene: It’s just another rainy day in late August at Saint Ignatius High School. Just as routine as any other day, Mr. Corrigan starts his eighth period AP European History Class by putting the notes up on the smartboard. On this routine day, Chris Bishop ‘18 lays his bright, red airplane carryon flat on its back, unzips the top zipper, for what feels like an eternity, flips open the top, and pulls out his notebook. Finally, Chris Bishop is ready to take notes.
The story behind the big red bag can be traced all the way to the wild land of Nicaragua. Back in the month of July, on the Saint Ignatius school mission trip to the poverty stricken country, a man swiped Chris’s bag while the students were playing soccer. Fast forward a couple months and school is starting.
Mr. Bishop was still without a bag to carry around at school and that’s when it hit him: what if I change the game and take a carry on luggage bag to school? Over the first couple days, this radiant, red bag, the size of a mini-fridge, was dragged everywhere. When asked what the greatest pros and cons of the bag were, Chris said that although the bag holds everything, it is very difficult to take up and down the stairs.
While he has since gotten a new “regular” backpack, echoes of the red bag still linger. However, Chris asks that his peers respect his choice to return to a conventional backpack and not ask him what happened to the red bag. In Chris’s own words, he says “It was a good run.”
Mr. Bishop asked me to leave you with one thought, “A photon turns up at check in for a flight with no baggage. The check in agent says “traveling light?” The photon says “Yes, I am.”
Stay golden Bishop, Stay Golden.
