Bedford Shoe & Luggage Repair

The handle on my suitcase broke.

Whom to blame? The taxi driver who extracted it from the well of his minivan, or the baggage handlers at American Airlines, or was it just wear and tear? I want answers! Every problem must be solved! And if you live your life that way you get stuck in the past and never move forward.

So it comes down to repair. But where to go?

Felice has got this guy in the Valley. I called, but he's out of the "office" until Wednesday, and I'm leaving town again on Saturday, which is a short enough window to begin with, so I took to the Internet.

I can't remember what I Googled, maybe "luggage repair Santa Monica," but I ended up on Yelp, and Bedford Shoe & Luggage Repair came up first. I dialed the number. But it was 6:02 and they were already gone. So maybe I'd go with the number two hit. Nah... Half a star might not make a difference, but when I see a negative review right near the top... I saved the web page for Bedford and decided to call in the morning. Which I did. And I proffered my problem. Could he fix it?

I had to bring it into the shop.

Which reminds me of my favorite repair joke of all time. In the back of "MAD" magazine. There was a cigar-chomping repairman delivering a bill for the repair of Telstar, which those under the age of forty might be clueless as to the identity of, but baby boomers know as one of the initial satellites, the one that got all the press. And the government employee is staggered by the billion dollar bill, cheap today, I know, but back then no individual had a billion, the price was stratospheric! And the repairman said...I HAD TO TAKE IT INTO THE SHOP!

I thought that was hilarious. I still remember it. The best jokes, like the best songs, you always do.

So after running some errands in Santa Monica, I journeyed east of the 405, which took nearly half an hour, because of the construction, which on one hand I approve of, but why is it taking so long? Remember those incentives that got the bridge rebuilt so fast in San Francisco after the '89 earthquake? Why can't they have them for L.A.'s most traveled freeway?

And after getting a spot on the street, I journeyed inside the aforementioned Bedford Shoe & Luggage Repair, where Sam Goli, I saw his name on the wall, asked him if he was the owner after our transaction, started to dissect my suitcase.

Who knew there was a zipper that removed the lining?

Sam.

Who knew that the loose plate was associated with the trolley handle?

Sam.

You get the point, I was clueless.

Then again, we all are. Back in the sixties, you knew how cars worked, you had to. But then fuel injection replaced carburetion and computers invaded the engine compartment and suddenly, automobiles never left you stranded and you had no idea what made them run. Hell, you don't even have to insert the key in many modern cars! Why even bother to join the AAA, with maps on your phone and no towing necessary?

Fifty bucks. For the brackets on both sides of the handle. And if that didn't do it, seventy five bucks for a handle too.

Huh?

I don't think this suitcase even cost me $200. I bought it in 2007. It's served me well. Was it time to retire it?

But that would require research and a trip to the luggage store and I was right here, right now, sure!

Never underestimate the price of gas. And last time I checked, they weren't making any more time. That's what I'd like back from the last century, some of that time I wasted!

So Sam got out his drill and I held the suitcase at an angle, and he performed surgery right then. It was a miracle! He fixed my suitcase! Hell, he even did extra work, rooting the free-floating trolley plate with a screw. And then he asked me if I wanted a new pull. You know, you fly and the little tab that allows you to run the zipper outside the case breaks off, well, he'd put a new one on for ten bucks.

Ten bucks?

Well, it doesn't pay to go halfway.

And as I whip out my credit card, I'm thinking how repair is a lost art. But maybe it should be, since every time I get something fixed, it breaks down soon thereafter, you're usually better off buying new. But there's such extreme satisfaction in rescuing the past, in keeping something you've become attached to functioning. I asked Sam, how did he learn to do this?

He'd been fixing since he was a tyke. He reclaimed garbage, he'd built his own bike from remnants. He'd put in thirty five years, this was his calling.

And as I exited the shop I wasn't sure I'd made the economically sound decision, but I had peace of mind and a smile on my face.

Chalk one up for the old guard. Everybody's saying Internet skills are the key to survival. But you can still make a living working with your hands, quite a good one based on these prices.

I heartily recommend Bedford Shoe & Luggage Repair.

And I'm even more of a believer in Yelp.

I've got the app on my phone, I wouldn't leave home without it!

http://www.bedfordshoerepair.com


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