I have a little story about a Privateering poster that I got from the ticket window at Padova. Its a little long, but please bear with me...
So, I had managed to get my hands on a brand new, giant sized Privateering poster from the concert ticket office in Padova (what a thrill!), and had dutifully lugged it across the country as I attended 2 more shows in Rome and Naples. It made it through the rigors of train and bus rides, hotel rooms and cafes, and fatiguing walks on scorching streets. Finally I was at Fiumicino Airport (Rome) yesterday, about to catch a plane home. Then, I stopped to help a mother & daughter who were struggling to get their 6 suitcases from the airport bus to the check-in desk. In that moment of distraction I FORGOT the poster on a chair in the waiting area and went off to get checked in and through security. Security was followed by Italian Passport Control and a bus ride from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, where my flight was departing from. Once there I ate a sandwich and went to the men's room, and then it struck me that I had left the poster in the pre-security area at Terminal 5. I was literally in tears
, not believing what had happened...it was quite devastating.
I went to my gate and was told by US Airways staff to try and go through a reverse of the security process, which in my mind was an impossible task. I mean, no one goes back through passport control, security check etc. Especially when the process involves going through the process in one terminal, and then taking a bus on the air-side to another terminal. Anyway, I started tracing my steps back, going through automatic doors that had warnings signs proclaiming illegality and alarm bells if entry was made in the wrong direction (I ducked in as the doors opened for someone coming in the right direction). I took the bus from Terminal 3 to terminal 5, went back through multiple manned check posts, through passport control and security check, relating my tragic story each time and being allowed to continue without hindrance.
As I approached the place where it all began, I was wondering if the poster would even be there. Could someone have taken it? Could a cleaning crew have thrown it in the trash? That would be the ultimate tragedy! Well, I went running to the spot I had left it, and lo and behold, it was still there! I literally jumped in the air and kissed the poster in joy. Then I dashed through security etc for the second time and was back at the gate with 20 minutes to spare.
Bought some chocolates for my kids from duty free, and settled into seat 9A for the 9 hours flight home
. I had done the impossible...life is good! Thanks for reading.
