Canada is my Lost and Found

Canada has been very good to me.

In May, I left my beloved BlackBerry Edge at a kiosk for Air Canada check-in in Montreal. TSA tried to help me find it after the jarring realization that the buzzing on my hip was phantom. No luck.

Three days later, I get a phone call at my home in Maryland, in the US, from a gentleman named Guy (pronounced Gey in that region) who says he found my "Blackberry or whatever it is" and turned it in at the Calgary transit station. Gey was my hero.

Fastforward to 24 September. I was traveling from DC to Cedar Rapids to visit Rockwell Collins. The seat on my Northwest/Delta CRJ200 flight from the leg from Detroit to Cedar Rapids was so crammed that my wallet -- with ID, credit cards, all the essentials -- popped out of my front pocket at some point in deplaning. I realized the missing gear a bit too late, and once again, TSA tried to help but wouldn't let me retrace my steps back to the airplane. Security reasons. My friends at Rockwell Collins graciously carried me to my appointments for the next 24h.

Believe it or not, you actually can get through security and board a plane even with absolutely no identification. TSA recommended I get to the airport early the next day for my flight home. Once there, I had to fill out a "verification of identity" form. The TSA supervisor made a phone call, then asked me, based on my name and address, etc, some basic questions intended to prove I was who I say I was. Things like, "Tell me your home phone". It was actually very easy, and may have been helped by the fact that I was wearing a suit, and not the ragged outfit and flip-flops I usually travel in. 

Once home, I cancelled my credit cards. Getting a new license would be a hassle, but I put that off. 

Long story short, I get a call from Northwest Airlines yesterday (9/29), five days after losing my wallet.

Guess where it turned up? Yep. Canada.

This time my lost was found in Winnipeg, completely intact.

Thanks Canada!