” Approaching Shelter H. Arriving at Shelter H,” the electronic voice of the parking lot shuttle called.
I sat upright. Wait a second! We just left G. How could we already be at H?
I leapt up and off the airport economy parking lot shuttle and headed towards my car, one row away. I shrugged my back pack on. As I navigated between the cars, I suddenly realized I’d left my suitcase on the shuttle.
The shuttle wasn’t far ahead and I tried to chase it down. but a tired middle-aged woman with knee issues is no match for a bus engine.
I was so tired, I could have gotten weepy, but I didn’t. I just wanted to get home so I summoned my best problem-solving skills.
I figure the shelter had some sort of emergency system so I headed back to it. No phone but two buttons on a call box. A red one for emergencies and a black on for other issues. Although this felt like a personal emergency, I pushed the black one.
A kind voice listened to my problem and gave me a cell phone number to call. Picture me fumbling for my phone, realizing it was still in Airplane mode and trying to punch in the numbers. I called the number but it went to voice mail.
A few moments later, another shuttle bus came along. Thank goodness they run every eight minutes, I thought. I jumped on and explained my situation to the driver. She was excellent and called it in. While she was solving my problem, I apologized to the two passengers sitting on the bus. My bus had been packed, which was part of the reason I had forgotten my bag. I’d put it on the rack and sat right across from it. Because the bus was so full the last passengers had to stand and a young woman stood right in front of mine. Out of sight, lout of mind, right!
Rescue plan in place the driver pulled away.
Another shuttle came along and I jumped on and explained who I was. Everyone on the shuttle had heard the story over the radio. They didn’t have my bag, but I remained hopeful.
The next bus did!!! I thanked the driver profusely and finally, walked to my car for the last leg home.
booksandbassets 
Good for you, staying calm (mostly!) and getting it all worked out. I think I would have gone with tears…
Traveling can be so hard. Glad you stayed calm and solved the problem.
What a blessing to have cell phones that can instantly contact a variety of people. So glad you were able to get your bag and get home safely.
Gee, you had me at the edge of my seat hoping for a happy ending!
So glad things worked out. Once I left my bag on a shuttle and didn’t realize it until I got home. I drove an hour back to pick it up, and hour back home, and then 40 minutes one way to pick up our fur babies from the “spa” where they stayed while we were away. I was exhausted,
So frustrating, especially when you are exhausted to begin with! I hope the rest of your trip was amazing!
Oh, no! As your story progressed, I kept wondering if someone might mistakenly take your luggage before the shuttle got back around to you. So glad it made it back to you!
Whew. Tension & then relief. Thrilled this story ended happily!