February 2004

Dear Readers,

Have you ever lost anything while traveling? If so, you know how maddening it can be. You retrace your steps, you replay in your mind where you were and when. You try to figure out the exact moment the loss took place, hoping that it will lead you back to your lost item, somehow.

That's exactly what happened to me in mid-February. We were headed to Asheville, North Carolina on a quick trip. With an early, early departure from Austin, we were up and at the airport before dawn, half awake.

Well, it seems that in that half awake state, I'd put on a new pin John had just given me, an early surprise Valentine's present. The pin was a gold and silver double heart, one exactly like the lovetripper logo! I'd hurriedly pinned the hearts onto my sweater and soon we were grabbing our luggage and heading off to the airport.

As you fellow air travelers well know, air travel is generally no picnic these days. We arrived plenty early to get computers and camera gear through security. Doing good for time, we grabbed some breakfast tacos and caught our breath before boarding. I checked to make sure the pin was still on, glad I hadn't needed to remove it for security. So far, so good.

Soon it was time to board. We headed on, settling in on the full plane. Things looked right on time on that wintry day. I pulled off my coat and reached up to make sure the pin hadn't gotten caught in the collar.

No pin.

We were just minutes before departure. We looked all around our seats, through our coats, but there was no pin in sight. The flight attendant saw us frantically searching and came up to see what was going on. I explained what had happened and she said, "Oh, we've got a few minutes. Run on up the jetway and see if you can find it."

I ran. I looked. I even made it back to the boarding area where we'd been sitting. No pin.

I ran into the ticket agents who'd checked us in just a few minutes ago and explained my predicament. "Don't worry. We'll keep an eye out and be sure to turn it in to lost and found if we find it."

I thanked them and trudged back onto the plane. Lost and found. That was the kiss of death, especially where a piece of jewelry was concerned. I'd seen the last of the pin.

Four days went by in snowy North Carolina and I was feeling better but still kicking myself about not taking extra time with the back of the pin when we returned home. "Let's make a quick check by lost and found," I told John as we waited for our luggage. But it was too late: they were closed.

The next day, we were caught up in all the usual post-trip frenzy: the emails, the orders, the voice messages. Late that afternoon, though, I thought I'd give lost and found a try with a quick phone call.

"Hmm, we do have something that sounds a little like that but you'll need to come down here and see," said the officer at the lost and found desk. That seemed like a real longshot, but one worth taking.

The next day, I was airport bound again, trying not to get my hopes too high. In a place where everyone's hustling and bustling to catch their planes, their arms filled with luggage and their minds filled with concerns that ranged from schedules to security, no one was going to take time to turn in a little pin.

But I was wrong. There it was, tucked in a tiny clear envelope. Some wonderful, kind person had turned in my pin. The lost and found office didn't have any idea how the item had gotten from the upstairs secured area to the downstairs lost and found office.

But I know. In these days where air travel comes with all sorts of baggage, one kind-hearted airline employee or fellow traveler took a few minutes to turn in what they thought might be a special item. And that made all the difference...

Happy travels, Paris

P.S. If you are a reader of USAToday, you might have seen us quoted in a story on reality TV shows recently! We received a call from a staff writer asking our opinion about the many reality shows that are now set at resorts around the world. We've visited and written about quite a few like Belize's Cayo Espanto. We were happy to see our quotes in the story which brought many new readers to Lovetripper! -John

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