how i wasn't even in new york for five minutes

and the new yorker in me came out.

after hitting the john after i landed at jfk, i headed to carousel #1 for my luggage. at that time there were three different bags rotating around - a blue one, a red one and a small black one. when the black one came around, a woman in her 60s checked to see if it was hers.

when it came around again, she checked it again.

and when it came around again, she checked it. again. even though it was obviously the same bag. one of the three.

so i laughed.

after i laughed, a woman next to me hit me in the arm and said, "she's checked the same damn bag five times". we both laughed and waited for the next revolution.

and as it approached, i did play-by-play. "hey? is that? could it be? it looks black, it's about the right size? should i check it?" and when she checked it and let it go, i said, "catch and release!" the woman next to me laughed.

and when it approached yet again, i said, "oh, this might be the one. maybe this time around. okay. it's black and it's small. fingers crossed, fingers crossed..." and when she, of course checked it again, i said, "catch and release!" again. the woman next to me laughed harder.

and that was it. more bags came on the carousel, adding to the three already there. so the fun was lost.

for the record: she didn't check that bag again. seven times was more than enough i guess.