The interesting thing I want to share about last week is that it was mostly normal. My work schedule was about the same as always and so was the personal stuff.
However, two different situations took place on the same day that reinforced the beauty of kindness.
Last week, my wife and I participated in a LOVESTRONG Marriage team meeting at St. Monica Catholic Church in Converse, Texas, which is a suburb of San Antonio. She and I are serving on the Decorations Team for this March 2023 retreat, which means that one of our responsibilities is the Date Night event.
St. Monica, like some other parishes, has a K-8 school, which works in our favor because they have additional facilities for us to use for the retreat. We decided that Date Night will be held in the school’s cafeteria.
As an instructor, I love walking through schools. There is something intoxicating and exhilarating when I’m in a place where learning happens.
Last week, I drove to the San Antonio airport to catch a flight for a 3-day business trip. I’ve done these trips so many times over the past 30 years that I hardly think about it anymore. In fact, I can usually pack in 20 minutes to prepare for the days I will be away from home.
After parking my car near Station 4K, I jumped out of my SUV and opened the hatchback. In just a minute or so, I had my computer bag and Travelpro luggage in tow.
I approached the United Airlines counter in Terminal B and confirmed my check-in via the kiosk. The bag tag printed quickly, and the agent glanced at my passport to verify my identity.
I should have been alerted here that something unusual had just happened.
Why did I use my US Passport instead of my driver’s license? I was, after all, traveling domestically. The week before I worked in Costa Rica, and I left my passport in my computer bag.
This forgetfulness worked in my favor today.
I used the Clear service to make my way through TSA. Given that biometrics are used here, there was no need for an ID.
Rental Car
Throughout my flight, I had no need to make any purchases, as I used the United Club for food and beverages.
Upon arriving at my destination, I am walking toward the Avis Rental Car counter, and I get this weird feeling. This is the point I realize that I do not remember seeing my brown wallet.
I stop in my tracks and go through my computer bag. When I do not locate it, I use the Find feature on my phone to search for the wallet. I placed an Apple Air Tag in it just for situations like this.
Sure enough … it showed the wallet at the San Antonio Airport … in my car.
I had no luck getting a rental car because the digital version of my driver’s license did not meet the requirements.
Going Digital
Here’s how I managed throughout the rest of the trip …
• I have the Uber app on my phone, so after collecting my luggage, I requested a ride to the hotel. The driver’s name gave me some comfort regarding my predicament, as this message appeared on my iPhone upon my arrival at the Marriott … “Thank you for reading with Jesus!” Love it!
• When approaching the Marriott counter to check-in, I asked the Bonvoy representative if they could use my AMEX card on file, and she said that was no problem. Good here!
• The next morning, I used Uber to get to my meeting. The driver was a retired teacher from Kenya who shared great tips on how my family and I could enjoy a vacation to his home country. He said, “Make sure to do a Google search for Nairobi National Park when you get a chance.” Exciting!
• For lunch, I walked about a half-mile to Chick-fil-A for lunch, and they gladly accepted Apple Pay. Nice!
• After taking Uber back to my hotel at the end of the day, I had dinner at the hotel, which billed to my credit card on file.
This was my routine during the entire business trip. I did have some cash on me just in case, but I never used it.
Upon arriving to San Antonio on Saturday night, I rushed to my car and did not immediately locate my wallet. Again, I used my iPhone to ping it. As it turns out, my wallet was in the passenger door storage area. Weird!
As I prepared to exit the parking lot, I selected the unmanned credit card station. After inserting my parking ticket, I reached inside of my wallet and removed my business credit card to make payment.
Guess what?
I did use my credit card after all!
On a United Airlines flight recently, I made a connection from Houston Bush heading back home to San Antonio. I was lucky on this trip because my international flight into Houston arrived nearly 30 minutes early, which gave me plenty of time to collect my luggage and clear U.S. Customs. In fact, I even had a little time to grab a snack from the United Club.
Anticipating that my flight to San Antonio would be called, I made my way to gate B79 so I could board the aircraft early. I received a complimentary upgrade to First Class, although it was no biggie because this was a small jet and a very short 42-minute flight. The most we would be offered was a drink and a small snack.
But, nonetheless, our seats are a little more comfortable in this premium cabin.
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