Man, this is just life in a nutshell. You spend forever fighting some huge problem and it turns out to be the dumbest, smallest thing. Like when your wifi keeps dropping and you're ready to buy a new router, then you find out the cord was half unplugged. Or your car makes a scary noise for weeks and it's a water bottle rolling under the seat. We always jump to the worst case and skip right past the simple stuff. Check the dumb thing first, every single time.

Did you ever stand next to one of those old hand dryers that got so hot it felt like a hair dryer on your skin? Not the same thing I know but it reminds me of this time at a truck stop in Wyoming where the dryer was so loud I dropped my keys in the sink. I have a thing about loud noises anyway. Concerts, fireworks, leaf blowers, all of it makes me jump. My husband says I have bat ears. So when you say your ear rang for an hour that sounds awful. You are not crazy for asking the gift shop lady for a napkin either. Airports should just put paper towels back in the bathrooms.