"...I'm grateful to get my bag back... Especially since it had in it my prized brush that I've been using for the last 26 years to get my famous Conan "flip-de-doo..."

If there ever could be a reason for Continental to loose a bag this has to be it.
Glad it all worked out for you. Puzzled by your experience. My experience with CLE's baggage folks has always been above and beyond the call. They seem to bend over backwards to make you happy. Well, as happy as you can be with a bag gone to the wrong place...