Remember back in the day when terror alerts and colors charts were just things that government officials talked about, and not something we had to deal with on an every day basis—especially when traveling?

Yesterday I had to take a train from Penn Station to have lunch with my dad. As the hoards of people stood around impatiently waiting for their trains to be called, a policewoman started blocking off an area surrounding a deserted black bag. Of course in this era of ‘See Something Say Something,’ people are scared any time they see a bag without an owner.

Anyway, this time there apparently wasn’t anything to worry about. The drug/bomb sniffing dog was brought in and determined everything to be safe. The same thing happened when I was at the Port Authority a few years ago, too. A worried traveler alerted the police to a bag that was left, which also, thankfully, turned out to be nothing.

Sometimes I wonder if the hype is all a little much. There’s always the one time that something actually does go wrong, and the extra precaution is important. Then there are the times that, unfortunately, the hype turns out to be unnecessary. I guess, in the end, it never really hurts to be more aware of your surroundings when you’re traveling. It’s just a matter of balancing your awareness with the ability to still travel without fear.

On another note, Chris returns from Japan tonight. He says he has tons of photos and stories, so hopefully I’ll have a great update about all of that soon.

Bis bald friends!