Traveling Dufus

Posted on March 1st, 2007 by GregPC.
Categories: Misc.

I often do some pretty stupid things.  Sometimes I realize that I am being stupid even as I am doing something.  Other times my stupidity dawns on me slowly.  And sometimes my stupidity sneaks up and surprises the shit out of me.  Yesterday was one of those days.

I had to be in New York for a meeting.  That meant getting up at 3:45 – which sucked all by itself.  I got to Logan with no problem.  Slept most of the flight to New York.  Grabbed a cab and started snapping photos on the way to the city.

When we pulled up at the hotel, I couldn’t find my wallet.  The driver, who’d been irritated and impatient during the drive didn’t seem so happy.  I wasn’t too happy myself.  I had just taken $120 out of the bank for the trip and now had nothing – no cash, no credit cards, no ID.  The only think I did have was a $60 fare.

I finally managed to reach a colleague who was staying at the hotel.  All the while I was waiting for her I could tell the driver was just smoldering.  Minutes went by.  My phone rang.  It was Wendy.  “Are you missing anything?” she asked.  It turns out that I’d left my wallet somewhere at Logan.  At least I knew where it was.

While I was waiting for Kristen, Scott Sikes, a colleague from Hong Kong, came walking out of the hotel.  He saw me in the cab and came over.  Ignoring pleasantries, I immediately asked him for the $60 dollars.  He had the money and gave it to me.  As I was paying the driver Kristen appeared.  For the moment, all was well.

The meetings were all well and good.  I may add something on them to my other blog but I doubt it.  The thought that kept running through my head though was getting back to Boston without an ID.  My assistant Amy was totally cool and helpful with all of this.  She let me know that I’d be able to get onto a flight but that I should be prepared for extra security.

She was right.  I got to La Guardia at about 5:30.  It took me a while to explain to explain my situation when I checked-in.  When I went through security I was naturally – and as expected – pulled aside for additional screening.  The screeners were nice.  One of them said he’d had the same thing happen to him last year in Charlotte.

Then my shoes set off the explosive detector.

“Well,” one of them said, “we’ll have to retest these.”  “Yeah,” said the other, “and if it goes off again we’re going to have some problems here.”  These were not comforting words.  Thankfully, the tertiary screening turned up nothing and I was sent on my way.

When I finally got to Boston, I went to retrieve my wallet.  “No wallets turned in today,” I was told.  “Are you sure,” I asked, “someone called my home to tell me it was here and where to pick it up.”  The blank-faced clerk just stared at me.  He stuck his head into a back office and confirmed that there were no wallets.  My patience began to wear thin.  I insisted that it must be there and asked that he physically check.

A few moments later he asked me my name.  When he had confirmed my identity, he produced the wallet – with the $120 still inside.

So while it was stupid of me to lose/leave my wallet, everything worked out alright in the end.  But that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel like an idiot anyway.

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