When I was a kid, I don't remember anyone with anything but trivial carry-ons (purses, little bags, etc). Now, there's this fight to see how much we can stuff

When I was a kid, I don't remember anyone with anything but trivial carry-ons (purses, little bags, etc). Now, there's this fight to see how much we can stuff we can cram in for free to avoid checked luggage charges. Everyone has a bag and another bag with a laptop or somesuch. Everyone is trying to fit the biggest bag they possibly can into the overhead. This all costs time. The weird part is that Southwest accepts checked bags for free, but I still see people doing this. I imagine there's an element of habit here and also a, "Why wait for luggage, I'll just bring everything with me and then go straight to a cab." I know I've fallen for that temptation before, but only after having my luggage lost twice in one year. Now I'm one of those people who often stuffs the largest bag he can find onto the overhead. Losing luggage for just 1 or 2 days on a 3 or 4 day trip really sucks. Suddenly I have no clean clothes, whatever electronics I packed, etc. I also never understood the fast boarding time gimmick. Sure, its nice, but I usually fly out of O'Hare or Midway, where there's always a long wait after boarding anyway as we wait for an available slot to take off. Usually 20-30 minutes from after doors are sealed. All that rushing was for nothing. I imagine things are better in airports outside of Chicago, NYC, LA, or Atlanta, but for me its a lot of silliness. Especially now that there's this early boarder fee which is just a reinvention of the assigned seating ticket, but crappier because now I'm paying my ticket AND that fee just so I don't sit in the middle seat.