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"The kindness of strangers"
12/13/2002 Entry
Much of my recent travel has involved flying around the US. For over a year now, lots of things that used to be allowed on airplanes are no longer acceptable. Relevant examples here are scissors and knives of any type or size. So the key is not to have any such item with you when you go to the airport. And I’ve been pretty good about this for the most part making sure to leave my keychain behind every time I travel. Unfortunately, sometimes there is just too much going on last minute and some things are forgotten.
On my keychain, I usually carry a small Swiss army knife that I got from a Swiss friend (so yes, it’s completely genuine  ). It’s faded considerably now given that I’ve had it for over five years, but the original had a cute flowery design – quite rare for these Swiss army knives – which is still somewhat visible although I may be making it up from memory. It has sentimental meaning to me as it’s from a good old friend, and it’s also a very useful item to have around, whether for sharpening pencils or opening packages.
Unfortunately, the last time I headed for the airport – you can guess by the date of the entry before my hiatus – I realized on the train that I had neglected to remove the Swiss army knife from my keychain! It suddenly hit me and I panicked. I’m sure it’s silly that I panicked, but I had taken so much care to avoid this situation that I was bummed I had slipped. What to do? I thought of three options:
1. say good-bye to my knife and throw it away
2. check-in my carry-on as that can contain such items and then mail it back to myself once at my destination so I wouldn’t have to keep checking in my luggage (I was going on a three-city tour)
3. find someone before I got to airport security to mail the Swiss army knife to me
The first option just didn’t cut it for me so I dismissed it pretty quickly. The second option seemed appealing except that I did not think it reasonable to risk losing my job market clothes when I had an interview the next day just to save my little knife. This left the third option. I looked around the train to see if there were any reasonable suspects for this endeavor. In the end, I approached a guy sitting across from me, I explained the situation, I handed him a $5 bill and my business card with my office address. I also asked him if he ever went to the post office to make sure I wasn’t imposing on him too much. He said he was on his way there anyway.
When I got home ten days later, a little box from “Man on the train” was waiting for me with my Swiss army knife. This kind person even included the change that was left over from the five dollars which I certainly had not expected. I figured whatever change was left was the least I could give him for his efforts.
To the “Man on the train” – thank you! (The mystery man was kind enough to include his address on the box so I can now send him a thank you note.) I share this experience because I think it’s neat to know that we can depend on the kindness of strangers like in this situation.
It’s also worth noting that some items are helpful to have when you travel just in case this comes up:
- an extra bag you can check in
- small bills with which you can ask people to mail you stuff
Of course, if you consciously remember these, maybe you will also remember to leave at home any scissors and knives that would lead to complications. Happy and safe travels!
Replies: 4 Comments have been posted, click here to see them and add your own
re: Swiss Army Knife -- I have a favorite Swiss Army knife also and have recently feared being in a security line with it in my pocket.
Your solution was great -- what a nice guy! This could be the start of a great screenplay[I used to work for Disney and all of my co-workers were always working on a screenplay]!!! A thousand stories could emerge from this 'opening scene'! BTW, what cues did you use to choose this guy out of all others on the train?
Posted by Valdis Krebs @ 12/14/2002 03:06 PM CST
Hey, the screenplay sounds like fun, maybe I should work on it after my dissertation.:)
That's a good question about how I picked him. Ever hear of homophily?:) I didn't think about this consciously before, but I think that was driving my decision. I should note that there weren't too many people around so I was picking from three or four. He was closest to me in age. He was engagingly reading a book, perhaps even a library book. I also noticed that his backpack was probably European, there was some sign of German or Italian, I forget. But all that put together made him a good target for this "mission".
Posted by eszter @ 12/14/2002 07:46 PM CST
Oh, how familiar a dilemma. I packed, what I bet was a near twin of your Swiss army knife (minus the flowers), into my checked lugagge on the way from Washington to Los Angeles.
I was absently filing my nails with its included nail file on the flight back,pondering how to best handle such a dilemma .. dilemma?! Oh, no! Oh, yes.. I hid it before any good samaritan had a chance to save democracy and the free world from my threat. I wil never confess!
Posted by Larry Stern @ 12/23/2002 07:58 PM CST
Wow, that's impressive. I'm curious to know how you got past security. Funny that you noticed it on the plane. At least it was on the way back otherwise you may have had to go through the same worry.
Posted by eszter @ 12/23/2002 08:19 PM CST
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