"Call us when you get there."

"Keep your cell phone on just in case."

"Check in with us at least once a day to let us know you are okay."

How many families have used these admonitions for one another? A father to his travel-itchy teenagers; concerned spouses to their beloved; vacationing people to cautious family and friends.

In this age of cell phones, being out of communication is getting to be a thing of the past.

If vacationing doctors, professionals and just regular folks have the foresight to leave plans on how to communicate with them if needed, then it seems a worthy precaution for Gov. Mark Sanford to do the same before disappearing on the Appalachian Trail.

Granted, one understands the mental necessity of a vacation to "get away from it all." It's quite understandable for Sanford to take a mental break from the rigors that his high office puts on him.

A daily cell phone call on his status would have sufficed while Sanford was vacationing. Even not telling anyone of his destination but one or two people, sworn to secrecy, is understandable.

However, leaving his staff in limbo to his plans or whereabouts has caused - hopefully - a false panic.

But it also shows a lack of caution for someone in Sanford's position.