watch

It’s been 20 minutes and I’m still shaking.

I’m not sure if I would have gone into a complete rage or simply broken down into tears.

I left my watch at Security at the Barcelona Airport. I never take my watch off. The metal detectors never go off if I keep it on and I’ve worn this watch every day since I bought it and that has to be close to 25 years ago.

She’s an understated Rolex but the last time I checked they are about $5,000 today. Yes, I was upset. Security at the Barcelona Airport is cranked up pretty high. I honestly thought I was going to have to strip down to my boxers to get through the damn metal detector.

I’ve probably had so much X-Ray energy put through me in the last 20 minutes that I will glow in the dark tonight. When I made the machine beep the first time, instead of having me go back and take off my belt and shoes they tested my feet on some machine I’ve never seen before. For those of you who are wondering, the machine said my feet were “OK”. I took off my belt and ran it through the x-ray machine but I still beeped. Security asked me to take off my Rolex so I did and handed it to him; I still beeped.

I got felt up twice which made me want a cocktail and I got distracted so when they let me go I got downstairs before I realized my watch was gone. I came back to the same security checkpoint and told the guard that he had my watch. The line was long so he was alternating between looking underneath the belt (apparently they put my watch on the belt and not in a container) and groping passengers.

After several iterations between feeling up a passenger and looking for my watch he pointed to the far end of the inspection area and told me to go talk to his “friend”. My heart sank.

Yesterday, just before we landed, I went into the bathroom, gave myself a sponge bath, and put on a fresh shirt. I would have sworn that my brand new, $200 Ted Baker shirt that I hand carried from Dubai, was folded and placed into my backpack. But when I got to the hotel it was gone. I did everything but give myself a cavity search. Finally I gave up and assumed that it was folded and left on the sink top in the airplane bathroom.

When I was in the Taxi to the airport today the driver told me that American Airlines and Iberia (my flight today) were In the same terminal. Finally a stroke of good luck. Surely they would have my shirt in their lost and found and the world would be returned to normal. No, instead the attendant at the American Service Counter said “We don’t keep shirts, only devices. They probably threw your shirt away.”. I had visions of my brand new tailored dress shirt being tossed into a trash can full of disposable diapers and old magazines. I was sick to my stomach.

So when I thought my watch was gone I really did almost lose it. I’m not attached to material “things” and usually if I lose something or if something gets stolen I just write it off. But this watch has been with me a long, long time, and I do get sentimental.

When I say I “Never” take it off, I mean almost never. Bedtime, Shower, and that’s about it.  However the Gods smiled on me. The “Friend” I was escorted to see asked what brand my watch was and what color it was and when he showed It to me I almost started crying. Seriously, I was sick to my stomach.

I can’t lose a Ted Baker Shirt one day and a Rolex the next. They say things happen in 3’s which means that if I had lost my watch the only logical 3rd loss was either my testicles or an ear vis-a-vis Van Gogh.

I’m at my gate waiting for my flight to Madrid. From there I fly to Pamplona to spend the night and then tomorrow, finally, I meet up with my group and this saga begins. Yes, I’m a little spun out by all of this but God Bless those of you that have been giving me encouragement. A smile goes a long way towards changing a mood. I also had a classic Spanish dinner last night with Tim’s friend which really helped calm me down.

Tomorrow this really begins. FUCK. Really? I’m going to walk across Spain? Well, something told me this was in the cards for me so I followed my gut. As big as it has gotten lately I figured it had to be right. I just hope that 35 days of walking will reduce my gut so it won’t give me any more of these crazy ass ideas.; at least not soon.

Joe Jeter Sept 30, 2014