A Sweet and Sticky Luggage Horror Story

On a press junket from Nashville to Seattle in late October of 2008, I checked my bags like every other traveler. It took a bit longer than usual because there was a group of ladies from a honey collectors society also boarding for the trip. Many of the ladies had purchased small jars of honey from the various shops in the airport and they all buzzed around each other discussing their sweet finds.

That's a long flight but it was made easier by the lovely ladies and their honey-laden tales of travel. We arrived late to Colorado and the connecting flight to Seattle had already left. I ended up staying in the same hotel as the honey ladies and boarding the same flight out the next morning. When I finally made it to my destination and picked up my bags I noticed a peculiar cloyingly sweet smell.

As I opened it the zipper was sticky and hard to open. Once opened I saw my clothes thick with a sticky, sweet substance. I smelled it and licked the corner of my finger. Honey!

Somehow, some of the honey ladies sample jars had leaked. Some had leaked into my netbook and still more coated my toiletries bag.

I had nothing to wear to the press junket but the travel things I had on. The airline admitted that several people experienced the same thing I had but no one seemed to be at fault. Restitution was made in the form of a free dry-cleaning card and all the honey I could wear.