It’s amazing what a combination of stress and hurry will do. Yesterday I nearly flew to Germany without my wallet.
Sometimes you plan things out so well you just mess them up. I was in a hurry yesterday. Not because I was late, but because I DID NOT want to be late. So the plan was to order an Uber three hours before my flight, giving me more than enough time to reach LAX and relax in the lounge.
There was no need to see the Star Alliance lounge – I’ve visited dozens of times and reviewed it here. I just did not want to feel rushed at the airport.
> Read More: Review: Star Alliance Lounge LAX
Sadly, by frontloading my rush to get out of the door according to my schedule, I ended up rushing the entire afternoon.
So I scrambled from 12p-12:30p to finish my packing, kissed my wife and son goodbye, jumped in the Uber, and departed for LAX. I was in good spirits: I’d now have a half hour of productivity and my wife was happy she did not have to drive me. We discussed whether I should use Uber or drive, but the choice became clear when little Augustine fell into a deep sleep just before I had planned on leaving.
I Took Everything…But My Wallet
About halfway down to LAX I started thinking about the tip (I now tip, sometimes grudgingly, on Uber). I reached into my wallet to check on my cash supply and discovered not only did I have no cash, I had no wallet!
> Read More: Why I’m Still Hesitant to Tip on Uber
> Read More: 5 Tips for Using Uber at LAX
I called Heidi and she quickly located it in our bedroom. Apologizing profusely, I asked her if she would drive it down to me. She agreed, but the Uber driver interrupted me and said I should just send it via Uber. My wife could order the Uber on her phone and simply hand the wallet to the driver with instructions to deliver it to me at LAX.
That was intriguing plan, but then my Uber driver decided to get on 1-10, sit in traffic for several minutes, then take surface streets to the airport. This was not under the direction of Waze and we easily lost 25 minutes. That was too much to leave to chance.
I won’t say I panicked, but I called my dear father, asking if he would mind sacrificing a portion of his afternoon to take the wallet to me. My parents live close by and my sacrificial father readily agreed.
He swung by my house, snatched the wallet from my wife like a baton in a relay race, and sped down to LAX. My father is not usually one to speed, but he made it to the airport less than 10 minutes after I arrived. Heavy foot indeed…
CONCLUSION
In the end I still had time to visit the lounge and be one of the first onboard my flight. But what a stupid error! Next time I’m going to have to resort to a checklist. All’s well that ends well, but had I not buffered in all that extra time yesterday may have been my SECOND missed flight in my life.
Thank goodness for our parents-they sure save our bacon sometimes!
If you had your passport, you might have been able to get a replacement credit card delivered to your hotel in Germany.