I was flying to Panama last night and arrived in LAX at 12:30 AM to check in. After handing my passport to the agent at Copa he took a pause and asked me what date it expires on. I looked at it and found that it expired in 5 days.

What??? It couldn't be expiring, I've had it for 10 years! He wouldn't let me on the plane as he said they won't let me off in Panama.

So I go home with my tail between my legs arriving at 3:00AM. Tomorrow at 6:00AM I take a 3 hour drive to the US Passport Agency to get one ASAP. I will try again next Wednesday.

A lesson for all. Look at the expiration date on your passports every once in a while. If you don't it can be a real bummer.