Stick to a routine

Panic sets in when you momentarily can't find your passport while traveling abroad.

Advice: Take the extra second to put it in the same place in your wallet no matter how rushed you might be in the situation.

There was a lovely gray-haired woman in her sixties who held up the tour bus for fifteen minutes while she frantically went through her main luggage stored underneath. That is after she had searched her purse and carry-on multiple times and checked in the restroom of the restaurant. Finally, she discovered that she had put in the pocket of her pants earlier in the day after pulling it out of the hotel safe. You could see the relief on her face, and her shoulders dropped considerably.

A colorful passport cover might be the answer for you.

It happens to the best of us at one time or other. That's all we could tell our travel friend as she embarrassingly went to her seat questioning if she should be traveling anymore.

A travel story with limitless results

If you are the person who selects the middle seat on an airplane, stop reading right now.

For all the rest of us who purposely pick an aisle spot, how on earth do you handle the seat mate who sticks to the middle one when instead, he could take the window and give both of you space?

I encountered such a situation on an overnight haul to Ireland from a gentleman who had a tremendous fear of flying and needed the closeness of another breathing body. In fact, he told me his situation before we took off and promised not to distrub me further - he didn't .

You can't help but have compassion for those who are uncomfortable flying. It's the right thing to do.

If more flying encounters would aim for kindness and less pushiness, we would have a better travel environment.

Don't leave your polite behavior at home.

Waiting to add the story

Having a fascination with side alleys and cobblestone roads, I wander endlessly through towns and cities attempting for a authentic feel to a place. One type of scene that causes me to pause for a photograph is an empty table ready and waiting for... That's where the word games start in my head as I thread together a possible story.

This particular table was outside a cafe in Provence, France.