Naked Without My Passport

Usually when I get on a plane, I'm going to Europe. I have to show my passport at three or four airports before I make it to my destination. When I finally get to my hotel, I have to show my passport there, too – most European hotels won't let you check in without one. Even walking around a European city, I need my passport. Internet cafes always require one, and sometimes just sending a fax means showing a passport. If I realize I left my hotel without my passport, my first reaction is I panic.

Which is why I now feel naked without my passport. I keep reminding myself that, as a US citizen, I can travel domestically with just my driver's license, but it doesn't help. Every few seconds I catch my breath and think “Oh my god! I forgot my passport!” Then I have to breathe deeply and remind myself that I did not forget my passport, I left it at home on purpose because I don't need it.

Even now as I sit at my gate - well past security and check in – I periodically feel that something is amiss. I think for a second, trying to figure out what's causing my feeling of unease, and then it hits me – I'm still concerned about that stupid passport.

What really worries me, though, is the following scenario: I accidentally leave my carry-on with its precious cargo of shoes under the bench at my gate. I walk onto the plane with just my tote bag over my shoulder and my trench coat over my arm. I put my trench in the overhead bin and my tote under the seat in front of me. Suddenly, I think: aren't I supposed to have something else?

Of course not. This flight is domestic. For the last time – I don't need my passport!

Copyright 2010 Sara Harding