What do you do? The guy sitting next to me just got up and left his suitcase behind at the gate. It took a few minutes to register or I would have said something like “hey, you forgot your bag”.  Of course I didn’t speak his language but am sure I would have made myself clear.  I didn’t get a good look at him other than notice he had on sweatpants with a stripe down the side, dark hair that was a little balding and probably about 20 pounds over his ideal weight.

After about 15 minutes I became more concerned, enough that I left that area just in case and debated internally if I should alert someone.  What is the protocol in other countries? This was a relatively small airport and not as alarming as Istanbul or Paris.  I looked around for a gate agent thinking this would be the easiest course of action.  There were policemen eating in a restaurant nearby….but I waited.  I looked for the suspect and thought I saw him talking on a phone about 100 yards away…looked at the suitcase again to see if it was smoking or something.  I don’t think Homeland Security will hire me anytime soon.

While I was still pondering my dilemma the man returned and actually sat next to his bag. Once we all boarded I made sure he didn’t run off the plane leaving his bag stowed in the bin.  “All’s well that ends well”?