A cautionary tale sounds like a tall tale to this reader — and it didn’t help anyone in a similar fix

Regarding “Terrified by a Lost Passport” [On the Spot by Catharine Hamm, March 19]: The story described in the passport article sounds more like a hoax than a reality. Here’s why:

Once the passenger realized he had left his passport inside the seat pocket he should have contacted an agent. I’m sure, based on the seat location, they would have been able to find it.

He said he was placed in a cell. I do not believe that. Most probably, in his wallet he had some identification and could have explained the occurrence to the immigration/customs agents and asked them to help to retrieve the passport from the aircraft.

In the prolix article Hamm failed to mention the most important tip she could have given to travelers: Make photocopies of the passport, driver’s license, etc.

An 8½-by-11-inch sheet of paper can be folded several times and be placed anyplace.

The article did not help alleviate a traveler’s problem in case of stressful situations.

John Rosati

Simi Valley

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No. 1 tip: Scan a copy of your passport into a PDF and email it to yourself and/or travel companion.

You can access it from another computer and/or your smartphone. You can then show authorities your carry-along-everywhere copy of your passport.

Larry Martinez

Santa Barbara

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I have two “man purses” and use one or the other as is best suited. Both feature a shoulder strap and a belt-loop backside. I use them to avoid sitting on my wallet and also as a secure place for wallet, tickets and passport as I travel.

Both feature hidden zippered inside pockets where I can carry items in complete security on my person.

Jon Olson

Torrance

Elizabeth’s falls?

An interesting piece on the early Irish in Butte, Mont. [“Emerald State of Mind,” by Joanna Pocock, March 12] In her discussion of Thomas Meagher and his wife, Elizabeth, the article mentioned that he may have named a waterfall after his wife but no one was able to find it.

Amid a lot of irrelevant stuff from a Google search, there is an Elizabeth Falls on the Middle Fork of the Mission Creek east of the town of St. Ignatius mentioned in Pocock’s article.

It seems more than a coincidence that the confluence of the individuals, the location and the circumstances add a high degree of possibility to the waterfall story.

Leigh Myers

Woodland Hills

A prickly point

I realize Ken Van Vechten’s Weekend Escape to Tucson was short [“A Desert Jewel,” March 19], but not even a nod to Saguaro National Park?

Bob Bailey

Thousand Oaks

Editor’s note: More about the national park

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