In which I offer the TSA a slight mental apology

[carbonel]

In June 2011, I went on a cruise to Alaska with Pat WINOLJ. It was a fine time, but when I finally got around to doing the final unpacking (I don't want to say how many days later but more than 30), I discovered that two jewelry boxes were missing -- one with a couple of pairs of earrings that I liked but but had semiprecious stones, and the one box with all the good stuff, including some irreplaceable opal jewelry that I was given by my grandmother.

I kicked myself for being so stupid as to pack the jewelry in checked luggage, mourned the loss (and confessed it to my mother), and went on.

Today, I needed to provide my passport information for another cruise (New England and Canada in the fall), and dug the passport out of my purse. The purse, which I don't normally use except as a repository to keep stuff contained within the backpack, felt lumpier than I remembered. I dug into one of the nether recesses, and there was the good jewelry box. I hadn't been stupid after all. Except that this means I missed the jewelry box when I dealt with the passport for two visits to Canada, not to mention shlepping the backpack all around the Winnipeg Folk Festival site, all unknowing that my best jewelry was in the purse in the backpack at the time.

So two pairs of earrings are still missing, but the stuff I particularly regretted is once again found. And I'm going to Canada again next week. I'm glad I found the box before I carried it abroad again unknowingly.

Comments

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Glad they're not lost!

I found an old cuff-link of my grandfather's that I was afraid was lost, sitting on an internal ledge in an old dresser. (I suspected it had gone out the gap in the back of the top drawer, and hoped I would find it under the dresser, and was disappointed when I did not; but I did find it when I got all the drawers out and really looked inside. I think it's slightly more munged than it used to be.)

[beadslut.livejournal.com]

I am so happy to hear that. I know you were very sad about it. Please don't take my earring to Canadia

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

"Embarrassed but happy" sounds about right, under the circumstances. I would hope and expect that your mother is also quite pleased. On a much tinier note, Louie and I had thought a small garden-spade of ours had been stolen because we had left it on the front porch. It turned out to be on a table in the living room, mixed with and buried under miscellaneous papers and junk. We are still going to be more careful about what we leave on the front porch, but it is now a "general principles" thing.

[pameladean]

I'm so glad your heirlooms are safe! Is there any other unlikely place that the earrings might be?

P.

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Glad it turned up! I'm still mourning the loss of my soft bag of computer cables and several USB flash drives that I brought with me to Worldcon that had irreplaceable info on them (which I think I left in the hotel room, although Housekeeping has not turned anything in). However, that's just stuff with no sentimental value so not as bad.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Terrific!