Previous posts about problems at airports and how travellers react raises an interesting thread: what disasters, near-misses or security challenges have you experienced while travelling? How did you react?

For example, on our list of near disasters: we kept one flight ahead of a hurricane in Thailand; arrived in Portugal in the midst of a coup d'etat and subsequent cholera outbreak; and had a debilitating bout of food poisoning in Sicily. I woke up one morning near Lake Simcoe to find a tree in front of the cottage door from a tornado the night before (which I slept through). Had to crawl out through a window to tell the staff. On our most recent trip to Death Valley, the morning cook died on the premises. Now that was unnerving and clearly one of the worst experiences we, and everyone else in the resort, have had. But staff and guests bonded in an odd way and we spent time trading life stories, so something good came of it as we laughed and cried together.

On a lighter note, I am routinely stopped at airport security and have been asked on more than one occasion if I have a gun in my possession. Well, let me see? Did I pack the pistol this trip? Duh. What a weird question, especially these days. When we flew out of Vegas in February, I had to remove jewellery, shoes, belt, etc. I commented to the security guy: "There's nothing left to take off." He replied: "This is Vegas, honey. You can take it all off." I roared with laughter.

I'm sure Ziners have similar stories. Ya gotta smile and go on, otherwise you'd go nuts.

Lucy, Toronto