The joys of airport screening for travelers

Trying to travel these days is insane. Every time I want to fly somewhere I make sure that I double check the rules and regulations concerning carry-on items several times in the week leading up to my departure. Then the day of departure I check all over again a few times through the day, right up to one final check before I leave for the airport.

Then after you get to the airport you go through the lines and check your luggage, sending it off to the giant x-ray machines and screeners to sort through, and then you wait in line at the security checkpoint with your carry-on bag wondering if the screeners there are going to decide to hold everything up while they poke through your suitcase and hold up various pieces of plus size lingerie while looking for whatever odd or end it was that triggered the spontaneous check.

I stopped flying with my dad's briefcase long ago because him and I were pulled to the side as we were going through security. Here I am, standing beside my dad, who is in his wheelchair, as what looks like half the security force swarms around and investigates his briefcase. We finally figured out the problem - he stored his revolver in the thing years before and the screener's swab test had picked up traces of the gunpowder. =-O

I thought we were both going to get strip-searched! We retired that briefcase, which was about 30+ years old, from use in travel. The airport security guys are not amused when they see them swabs pick up gunpowder residue, and I was amazed that the things could because I knew how long it had been since that briefcase had last been used to store any kind of weapons or bullets.

Lesson learned: be careful I mark which bags have had that stuff in them, and be wary of any bags I buy second hand that someone may have used as a makeshift gun case.