“Where’s your gray bag?”
I felt a panic start at the top of my head that settled into my gut as I realized in an instant that I had left my bag with my PASSPORT, our iPad, 2 debit cards and my Amex on the tram.
I had left that bag behind when exiting the city tram at the busiest, most chaotic crossroads in all Amsterdam, the Central Station. This 1/2 square mile area is where below ground subways, regional train service from other countries, inter-city train service from all over the Netherlands, ferries, pedestrians, city tram service, tour boats and bus lines all converge. The place is a noisy madhouse 24/7.
We had walked about 20 minutes to the other side of the station at that point. I literally threw my hands up in the air and cried “Oh no!” while retracing my steps towards the other side and the tram stops as quickly as possible. All the way there I was half crying, half muttering to myself about what an absent minded dumb-a$$ I am and half exclaiming “What are we going to do?”, as Erin hustled along beside me.
After finally finding our way from one side of the Central Station to the other (there is a below ground walkway that I couldn’t find in my panic), we were directed to the GSV help desk because they operate the trams. The very pragmatic Dutchwoman who listened to my story didn’t show too much concern until I told her my passport was in the bag. Then it became a top priority for her. She made a call and the people on the other end of the line said they would send a text to all of the drivers/ticket takers on that particular tram line to be on the lookout for said bag. She then suggested something I thought to be utterly ridiculous ~ stand here and when the #12 tram comes around, ask each driver/ticket taker on each tram if they’ve had anything turned into them. “Here look”, she said not unkindly but very business like, “this # is the number of this particular physical tram, when it comes back around again you will know you have talked to all of the trams operating this line today. It should take about an hour”. I wanted to ask her if she was f-ing serious?! How the hell did she think that was going to help?!!!!
With nothing else to really “do” and a need to do SOMETHING…….we did as the nice Dutch GSV helper lady suggested……..we stood around and waited for each tram to come in ~ I talked to the conductor at the front of the tram and Erin talked to the ticket taker at the back of the tram. In between trains Team McWasson kicked in to high gear. Without talking to each other about it we each took on parts of the trip that were important things to deal with. I found out the address and hours of emergency passport replacement at the US Consulate. Erin cancelled my debit cards. I called the Amsterdam/New Castle Ferry company and rebooked us for the next day. Erin was investigating how to wipe the iPad remotely while downloading an app to cancel the American Express.
And then…….a miracle happened. The fourth train into our quest the conductor knew exactly who I was and motioned toward the back of the tram. The ticket taker HAD THE BAG IN HIS HANDS and was filling out a lost/found tag. NOT ONE THING WAS MISSING. Someone had turned it in shortly after we got off the tram.
I cannot tell you how joyful we were. We shook the ticket taker’s hand and would have hugged him if he had been able to come out of his booth. I threw my hands up in the air again, this time with relief, and we hugged each other as I burst into tears. We found the helpful Dutch GSV agent and thanked her over and over again. We spent an extra night in Amsterdam. Throughout the course of the evening we would shake our heads and acknowledge our luck and gratitude for the for the better nature of our fellow humans.
We often light a candle each for the angels in our lives ~ Erin’s grandmother Pauline and my mom Fredys. We put the donation in the box and sometimes light a big candle and sometimes a small one. Why do we light candles in churches when neither of us are practicing Catholics? Because when you need a little (or a lot) of luck and you don’t know where to turn, it’s always nice to have angels on your shoulders looking out for you.
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