A few months ago in Madrid, Spain, I spent one tense hour outside passport control. I had misplaced my passport and like a scared 1st grader approaching a teacher, I approached passport control in a foreign country without a passport.

If it's in the seat pocket like I thought, just walk to the plane and get it, right? Like Stuttgart, Germany, the Madrid airport expanded so quickly that most flights are filled and emptied by way of bus shuttles. Upon landing the EasyJet discount airline jet in Madrid, we were bustled from the plane to the terminal like sardines in a packing plant. Suddenly, I scramble for my passport to discover, "nada."

Hopeful and gloomy were probably two words describing my face as I told my travel companion and boss, George Verwer. Graciously he continued his work outside waiting for my silly mistake. Since that experience, I've changed my exit procedure: SLOW DOWN. Now, I voraciously scour my seat and all crevices in my flying space. Thankfully this EasyJet flight, with its usual 20 minute turnaround, had not returned to London yet, and after many long minutes, a passport agent handed me my passport: relief!

Now, I regularly find used gum in barf bags, soggy tissues, and very rarely anything of interest other than an excuse to sanitize my hands. Exiting my most recent flight from Chicago to London via Washington Dulles, I stumbled upon a discarded boarding pass. I shared my find with the silent business traveler next to me; he yelped with laughter. We continued our exit with a chuckle and thankfully forgetting nothing. Maybe this laughing businessman works for a small startup company in Seattle, Washington.