Losing Things

Now here is a subject that I am truly a world expert on; the kind of expert Albert Einstein was in the field of physics. The result of losing stuff can vary from the mildly irritating - say, a pen - to the trip-halt-mg fa wallet, passport, etc). I know, because during my travels I have generously distributed sunglasses, pens, Swiss Army knives, airline tickets, books, a camera, and other things, all over the world, to the flight of the finders. Even now, some guy in Syria is blessing the stu-pid tourist who presented him with a camera worth more than the average Syrian makes in a month. The bitter fruits of my experiences:

- On any long train or plane trip, where you ‘re sitting for several hours, things have a way of climbing out of pockets. Well before your destination, get up, get your things together, and check under, in, and around your seat for anything that might be lying around. Do this if you change seats within the train or plane as well. Account for tickets and passports well before landing or arriving at your station. Don’t wait until the last minute and then be forced to dash out - that’s a great way to leave something behind.

- Try not to carry more than one bag at a time. Put bags of things you’ve bought into a daypack rather than carrying them all separately.

- If you are leaving a place, and have this vague feeling that you may have forgotten something, or that you used to have something in your hands that isn’t there any more, listen to that feeling. Stop for a minute, check to make sure you have everything you came in with, and everything you took out with you in the morning. Believe me, that funny feeling doesn’t lie.
0 If you’ve lost something and there’s no way of getting it back, forget about it, don’t get totally pissed off, and don’t let it ruin your day. My friends who read this will howl with laughter, but just because I can’t do that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.