Besides having ID with you, letting at least one person know where you are should not be viewed as an invasion of privacy – it can be as life-saving as a swim jacket. This is especially true for travelers hiking, sailing or camping off the beaten track. If someone goes missing, it is crucial that someone else is aware of the general area they were planning on going to. There are just too many stories of people being lost and succumbing to extreme heat, unpredictable snow avalanches, stormy seas, etc.
There is no closure when people go missing – and that can happen even doing routine activities that for the most part are benign and typical.
Especially when traveling in foreign countries it is important to let someone know your plans. Let them even know that you got to the airport when you leave. This way if your flight arrives – but you do not – at least those looking for you can save a crucial amount of time discovering at which point you disappeared. Did your taxi, bus/crash/or were you abducted? (Almost happened to me in a Mexican taxi years ago – the driver would not unlock the door, unless I gave him the exorbitant fare he felt he was entitled to.)
A few years ago I was eagerly waiting for my son Moshe to arrive from Israel for his brother’s wedding. I would occasionally ask the passengers coming out if they had been on that specific flight. They were. An hour passed and passengers from a much later flight were coming out of the immigration/customs area. I was getting rather puzzled at this point but since Moshe had left a message that he was at the gate in Ben Gurion, I knew he made this flight. Finally he showed up. The delay was caused by a wedding gift that did not arrive with the rest of his luggage. Without that phone call, I would have gone nuts with worry.
I know that the “default” scenario is that people safely arrive at their destinations. But just like someone wins the lottery from the millions that try to – there is always that one person in a million who does not make it.
Planes crash, trains derail, boats sink, cars are smashed into, people fall.
A single friend of mine “luckily” had a stroke on a Friday evening. Since she was a frequent Shabbat guest, her hosts – neighbors who had a key to her place – went looking for her. They found her on the floor. Had it been a week day, they might have not found her in time to save her life, as it’s not unusual for a few days to go by without contact.
I strongly believe in what I call the 24-hour buddy system for people young and old who live alone. Be in touch via a quick email or text once every 24 hours. If there is no response – an atypical situation -go check out why. You could save a life.
