Anyone who has lived in New York City, or visited many times, understands the phenomena of walking down the same street over and over and one day finding something they never noticed. A building, a shop, restaurant, etc.

Yesterday a similar phenomenon occurred. I reached into one of my handbags to dig out some spare change. This is the same handbag I use on a daily basis for work. It has gone on several long-haul trips with me. I check each of the pockets frequently for my wallet, change, keys, etc.

In the handful of change I also pulled out an airplane charm I lost over a year ago. I couldn’t believe it! The amount of time I’ve looked in the pocket and never saw it reminded me of the experience of noticing something new on the street. I was upset when I lost the charm because I had just bought it with my mom during our trip to Spain. The bracelet was from Loewe, a beautiful store in Spain, not found in the United States. The charm bracelet had a travel theme, including the airplane. I lost the airplane charm a few days after we arrived home. We were in a store in midtown Manhattan when I discovered it was gone. I was convinced I lost it there.

Yesterday morning I was looking at replacement charms on the Internet before I searched my bag for change. Lo and behold, there it was! Coincidence? I don’t know. But it brought back great memories of the trip, including our flights on Iberia, stays in Madrid and Barcelona, and the discovery of beautiful new jewelry!

— Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher