Joanne's Broken Wheel

Who the heck is this Joanne person?

That was one of the first questions I'd been asked by my friends after I got back from Europe.  I'd been posting pictures on Facebook from over there, and she was in many of them.  I don't really talk about her to my friends at home, so that's why they'd never heard of her before, but I'm so glad she was a fellow chaperone on this trip.  She provided a lot of laughs all around and she and I spent lots of quality time together.  The two of us have became closer because from the whole experience, as have we all, but she and I definitely took a lot of selfies together.

You have to really know Joanne to understand her.  She is a character, and her sweet, almost naive way and her genial nature make her easy to like, and easy to have fun with.  Case in point: the broken wheel...

Now this was one of a couple of humorous incidents that happened with Joanne in Europe.  It happened on just our third day.  We'd just left the hotel in Amsterdam and we were scheduled to catch the high speed Thalys train to Paris.  All was fine until we got to the train station and had to unload the bus with all of the luggage.

Our bus driver was a mannish woman, and she tossed out the bags from the belly of the bus like a pro, except when she got to Joanne's.  Somehow, one of the two wheels on her big bag got caught up on the lip of the baggage area and it came off.  We had all been rushing to catch the train...we had to walk some to get there...and no one noticed, except me.

She broke my wheel!  Joanne yelled out as she rushed up behind me, now practically dragging a wheel-less, and heavy, bag down the cobblestone street.  I couldn't help but chuckle a little at the site, and I offered to switch with her.

I can't believe it! What am I gonna do now?

She was more worried than angry, thinking about going the next ten days like this.  

I gotta buy a new bag!  

Okay, so that was definitely a plan, but I still found the whole thing pretty funny.  We finally got to the train station and we gathered on the platform waiting for the train to show up.  She was still all ruffled about the wheel, and I suggested taking a picture to remember the incident.

Okay Joanne, hold the wheel up and show how angry you are...

I'm laughing now even as I post this... 

Joanne, you are angry!  That woman broke your damned wheel.  Show me you're a tiger...

Okay, well I guess I was making her laugh.  She started to try...

Finally, she got angry...really angry.  Way to go Joanne!!!  You did it!

Just another day later and Joanne bought a new bag in Paris.  She no longer had difficulties lugging a big bag around sans wheel, and she was happy...until the next incident...Love her!

Check out my other posts about my trip to Europe:

Amster...dam, Part I

Gouda Cheese and Clogs

Amster...dam: The End