I just got back from a business trip and had to go through Security 3 times and I want to say

[hedgehog]

that the TSA employees were courteous, alert and professional. The new guy at La Guardia was concerned because the boarding pass I had been given at the first leg of the trip was printed on a US Airways form and I was at the Delta terminal. He didn't think I was a threat, just wanted to make sure I wasn't lost. His supervisor was right there to explain things. (Also - way to perpetuate the stereotype of the uncaring New Yorker!).

So, I am certain we'll here now about how TSA is all Kabuki theater, and there will be horror stories. I jsut wanted to add some balance.

[SDuderstadt]

1. I travel frequently and have had the same experience as...

you. I have been singled out for the full body scanner, as well as the enhanced patdown, and have not experienced anything remotely like what many here are alleging.

[hedgehog]

8. They were scanning everyone at Spokane this morning. Did I mention the

guard at Philadelphia who pointed me in the right direction when I changed planes?

[Drale]

10. TSA agents are down right nice unlike

guards at the Daley center here in Chicago. Granted the guards at the Daley center deal with people who are angry because they have to go to court or jury duty every day.

[Ikonoklast]

17. Philly? What finger did he use to point?

[uppityperson]

2. k&r, glad your TSA experiences were ok.

[CelticThunder]

3. How nice that they are polite while they are treating you like a criminal.

[SDuderstadt]

5. Going through a security checkpoint is not....

being treated like a criminal.

[Supply Side Jesus]

6. That is not being treated like a criminal

if so, I'd want to be arrested there

[hedgehog]

11. Hmmm.... are you saying that overweight white women of a certain

age can't be terrorists? Isn't that reverse profiling?

[cliffordu]

18. Fascist societies are unbearably polite societies.

Check it out. Rules rule.

[bluestate10]

75. Give me a break. I would rather face a patdown than have to fight for my life at 35,000 feet. nt

[blueamy66]

120. How often have you had to fight for your life

at 35000 feet?

Just asking...

[LibDemAlways]

124. How does your being subjected to a

patdown by some TSA flunkie make you safer? You aren't a terrorist. And it's a pretty safe bet that someone out to create havoc on a plane is going to be smart enough to figure out how to get past TSA in the first place.

[SDuderstadt]

125. Two questions...

How would the TSA know the poster was a terrorist? Because the poster told them? Secondly, with 2M people flying daily, if anyone determined to create havoc can just get part the TSA, why aren't there lots more of these incidents?

[defendandprotect]

116. +1000% -- exactly!!

[Drale]

4. You mean you didn't get raped over and over by horrible monsters just out of prison?

I'm shocked!:sarcasm: Sorry for the really really dark sarcasm but it seems like thats what some people here believe thats all TSA agents do.

[SDuderstadt]

7. I know...

it's really ridiculous.

[U4ikLefty]

15. No, genuflecting to authority is what is really ridiculous.

dud

[bluestate10]

78. Living in a society requires that we not do whatever we want to do.

Obeying laws is not genuflecting. Now, come up with some other absurd claim.

[U4ikLefty]

105. We decried the security-state of the Soviets, but here we are.

And you seem to be loving it.

I guess we are in decline.

[SDuderstadt]

108. LOL!

Airport security makes us the Soviet Union?

LOL!

[Name removed]

117. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SDuderstadt]

118. "Creeping authoritatarion (sic) mindset"

When you can't win the debate on the merits, just accuse your opponent of some variation of authoritarianism.

Too funny.

[dionysus]

why SDuderstadt, mad cap. where you going with that suitcase and boarding pass?

[SDuderstadt]

88. Tombstone, AZ...

Now...are you going to do something or just stand there and bleed?

[dionysus]

91. Tombstone? very cosmipolitan. i will not be pawed at, thank you very much.

[SDuderstadt]

92. Why, dionysus!

Are we cross?

[hedgehog]

9. You mean the horrible monster who came over to the bench to pick up

the bin so I wouldn't have to haul it back to the counter?


I'm not totally wishy-washy - it used to really drive me around the bend when I had to sign in at the door, sign in at the office, sign out at the office and then sign out at the door when I picked up one of the kids at school for a regular doctor's appointment and not once did anyone ask for ID! But I understand that airplanes are an attractive target.

[The Straight Story]

12. Millions of people own guns too - and only a very few use them to shoot others

but no one reports on the guy/gal who had a gun today and did not use it.

[uppityperson]

13. at least not on DU. eom

[Frances]

14. My experience has been the same as yours

on my many flights.

I'm sorry if others have had a bad experience, but I have not seen any bad behavior, only courtesy, on my flights.

[Riftaxe]

16. It is entireably possible to appreciate the hard job the

TSA employees do and still be against full body scanners...if i wanted nude images of me on the internet, i would start a web site :)

Of course if i started such a website, i would fully expect a visit from homeland security...

[Rowdyboy]

19. I've also been impressed with the TSA employees I've dealth with...I appreciate security

and am willing to tolerate small discomforts to get there alive. Apparently not everyone feels the same.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bluestate10]

82. During the early days of the TSA, when they were taking massive heat

for being lazy and unprofessional, I left a valuable personal item at an airport screening. I found out later that the item was turned in to a supervisor and was taken to lost and found. When I figured out where I may have left it and called, I was asked to give a description of the item, which I did. The agent that talked to me then got the address to mail the item to and mailed it back to me, safely packed and insured. And I did not pay a cent for my own screwup. My experience before the event described and since has been nothing but positive with TSA agents and their conduct while doing their jobs. I don't understand where the complaints are coming from, but given the attitude displayed by some on DU that their small piece of the world is so precious, I have an idea of why the complaints exist to begin with.

[Honeycombe8]

21. You didn't mention what type of security. Scanner, or pat down. nt

[seabeyond]

34. because those are not a problem for her, and she accepts the invasions she can say

there was no problem.

[hedgehog]

96. Scanner . I thought about requesting a pat down just out of residual

fear of radiation exposure, but then figured, screw it - I've had so much exposure in my lifetime, accidental and medical that it wouldn't make any difference.

[elleng]

22. Same experience here, in a recent international trip.

[Arctic Dave]

23. The walmart greeters of fascism.

Welcome to fascism, torture on aisle 5. Unwarranted spying on all aisles.

[LibDemAlways]

132. Comparing TSA employees to Walmart Greeters is

an insult to Walmart greeters.

Hard to believe the apologists here who are so scared of phantom boogeymen that they would gladly bend over to the government, surrendering both freedom and dignity in order to have the illusion of safety.

[PotatoChip]

24. And nobody touched your junk?

or did you pull a hedgehog on them? ;-)

[Pholus]

25. Thank you for your inspirational story. Why have you missed the point?

It's nice the TSA is working to improve their PR image. They have to -- their revenue stream comes from it. And absolutely no doubt most TSA employees are really great people.
Even the most monsterous organizations in history were full of charming or sympathetic individuals and the TSA is FAR from that category.

However, they are also FAR from harmless to our ideals and your testimonial doesn't delve into THAT too deeply.

For some reason you have bottom lined this, oversimplifying concerns about policy and administration into some kind of simpleminded hatred of the TSA rank and file.

Why?

[Bill McBlueState]

104. +1 n/t

[blueamy66]

121. +2

nt

[woo me with science]

122. Excellent post. nt

[Stinky The Clown]

26. I'm certain most TSA employees are nice enough people

Thanks for the anecdote.

The issue is the very existence of TSA, not the workers who carry out its policy as best as they're able.

[SDuderstadt]

32. You could always design a better...

airport security system, dude.

Can't wait to see your design.

[Pholus]

35. The point WAS that better ones were available yet were ignored.

Four years to RAM through what should have been designed in from the start:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020105305.html

Wow, the privacy concerns GO AWAY because it is no worse than a metal detector.

Can't wait to see your justification for TSA ineptitude.

[SDuderstadt]

36. "Can't wait to see your justification for TSA ineptitude"

You don't appear to want principled debate. Go fight by yourself.

[Pholus]

37. Ohhhh, so "Can't wait to see your design" wasn't? What high principles you have!

I will have to fight by myself.

Edit. Removed a jab. I figure my responder CAN'T defend the TSA. This was a boondoggle.

[SDuderstadt]

38. You don't see the difference between...

"can't wait to see your design" and "can't wait to see your justification for TSA ineptitude"?

Really?

[Pholus]

39. Actually, both are snarky comments. Only one of us got indignant though.

So yes, "really."

[SDuderstadt]

41. How does "can't wait to see your design"...

poison the debate?

Can you see how "can't wait to see your justification for TSA ineptitude" does?

[Pholus]

42. On the off chance you're being serious here, I will be too.

Your original comment went along
the lines of "If you can do better,
do it." with the "Can't wait to see
your design" a seeming indicator that
you are not expecting a result. Now
perhaps you were sincere, but the use
of the word "dude" at least by me
is an indicator that the intent of
the comment may be a bit demeaning.
YMMV of course.

My point was that most of the privacy
problems with the system were easily
rectified, the exact solution being
proposed by an engineer four years ago.
The TSA ignored his suggestions, though
they were more than reasonable and he
had a relatively credible background.

The flap that so many DU'ers think was
some right wing conspiracy last November
got this engineer some press time and
as a result the TSA felt some pressure
to consider his changes (which as admitted
by all were pretty painless) which led to the
story I linked to.

Now the radiation issues are something
else entirely, yet the TSA doesn't want
their people wearing radiation badges
for some reason. Even though my work
deals with much lower dosages, we have
radiation safety people AND we wear
badges.

Why should I trust a safety organization
that does not care for the safety of their
workers?

[SDuderstadt]

47. "yet the TSA does not want their people wearing radiation badges for some reason"

So, you don't know the TSA's reasoning, but you already know they "don't care for the safety of their workers"?

[Pholus]

48. You REALLY don't want to discuss that WP story, do you?

I am saying that there is a history of unresponsiveness and secrecy in an area where openness is a plus, so no, I do not "trust" this organization. They have to earn that trust. Sucks to be them I suppose.

Actually the February story shows that when faced with sufficient pressure they will eventually do the right thing. In that way, they're not irredeemable and that's a start.

[SDuderstadt]

50. "secrecy in an area where openness is a plus"

Really? On the spectrum between secrecy and openness, you can't see why the TSA wouldn't tilt more to the secrecy side?

[Pholus]

52. In general, the best security systems do not depend on secrets so openness implies good design.

Again, YMMV.

[SDuderstadt]

53. Please prove that n/t

[Pholus]

54. Why don't you prove the opposite. You can't and here is the example.

You can fly while being on the "no fly list"

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/business/yourmoney/17digi.html

Bonus points if you notice how secrecy surrounding a poorly designed system didn't enhance passenger safety, but it did cover quite nicely the people responsible for the screwup as they tried to PUNISH the person pointing out the security hole.

[SDuderstadt]

60. It's YOUR claim, dude...

I don't have to prove the opposite. The maker of the claim bears the burden of proof. Look up the logical fallacy known as "trying to shift the burden of proof".

[Pholus]

61. You can't prove the opposite. You're good at weaving. So what about the article.

Why did it take four years?

[SDuderstadt]

64. I don't HAVE to prove the opposite...

YOU'RE the one who made the claim. Duh.

[Pholus]

66. So define your standard of "proof" before I start.

[SDuderstadt]

68. Nevermind...

dude.

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SDuderstadt]

74. Apparently the word "nevermind"...

confuses you.

[Pholus]

76. Yes. Much like the article apparently confuses you. Look, I'm just wasting time between laundry

loads. I am finding this an amusing debate and not much more. I'm hoping you're not taking it much more seriously than that either.

Dude.

[Pholus]

55. Example 2.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/pilot-hasseled-tsa-uncovering-security-breaches-major-airport/story?id=12470082

[Pholus]

57. Define proof.

Do I need to write a dissertation, or merely cite authorities.

[SDuderstadt]

67. Nevermind n/t

[Pholus]

58. Furthermore, you STILL didn't discuss the article. :) This is getting fun!

[Pholus]

56. I know I WEAR a badge because the govt regulations say it's for my safety. Why then not TSA? nt

[SDuderstadt]

62. Since you don't identify WHERE you work...

the relevance of your statement remains to be determined.

[Pholus]

63. Bummer for you.

[SDuderstadt]

69. And for any reader...

nevermind.

[Pholus]

77. My actual identity? Less important than the OSHA regs I reference.

At least as a standard of proof. After all, your next post would be asking me to mail you my birth certificate or something.

Dude.

[SDuderstadt]

79. Show me where I asked your identity...

dude.

I asked you where you worked. A generic answer would have been fine.

[Pholus]

81. Where I work is less important than the OSHA regs themselves. Unless you're TSA of course.

Then you get to ignore them.

[uppityperson]

93. Last worditis?

[Name removed]

94. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[uppityperson]

97. last worditis. eom

[Pholus]

65. But let me toss you a bone.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10098

[Pholus]

72. All that wasted thread because you didn't want to answer one question. Amusing. nt.

[CTyankee]

27. Coming thru customs on my way back to the U.S. at JFK last month,

I had a different experience. The guy asked me about what "food" I listed as bringing back from France. I started to show him a little box of macaroons I had bought in Paris and he barked "I don't want to see them, just tell me what they are!" He was NOT smiling. And this was before OBL was killed...

[Atman]

29. The screening leaving Mexico was much more thorough.

First of all, I generally agree that, as people, they're mostly quite courteous and helpful, even when I've been pulled aside for the "random" secondary screening. However, on a recent trip to Cancun I was really surprised at their version of the TSA; nearly every person had their carry-on bags manually searched. Me too, and my wife. In my case, the questioned me about my box of chargers and cables for the various cameras and electronics we were carrying. A woman in front of me had all her knitting stuff taken away (except the yarn). In the states, even when I've been pulled aside, it always seems to be for a "mistake." Like, one guy thought the eyelets on my snowboard boots were suspicious. Huh? At least being suspicious of a box of wires makes sense. What did this guy think I was going to do with snowboard boots? As nice as they may be, they tend to lack common sense in that regard.

The question about our freedoms (or lack thereof) is valid, but a different discussion.

[CTyankee]

51. maybe a snowboard boot bomb?

Yukkety yuk...

[hedgehog]

100. Who was doing the screening - Mexican security or TSA?

When I was leaving Brazil, we all went through security, then got pulled aside again halfway down the jetway and had all our carry-ons hand searched.

If TSA is so screwed up, why do so many other countries follow pretty much the same procedures?

[bluestate10]

83. The agent was right and you were wrong. Any international traveler

know that hangups are going to happen when food, wooden and ceramic items are brought in on international flights. You are lucky the agent did not take the food item to customs, you would have gotten it back it weeks later.

[CTyankee]

90. Oh, the agent was right but wasn't interested in searching it, just in knowing what it was.

I travel to Europe every year and simply forgot to put that item (bought it last minute at CDG but not in the duty free shop) in my checked bag. So even an experienced international traveler can make a goof.

[hedgehog]

99. Actually - he had a point. It's like being at a traffic stop - you

don't make a move unless the cop tells you to. If he pulls you over and sees you reaching into the glove box, he has no idea if you're being helpful and grabbing your registration and license or reaching for a gun. In this case - you could have been reaching in to pullout a packet of powder or whatever.

It's natural for innocent people to try to be helpful and provide information. It's hard for us to understand that our actions could be misconstrued.

[CTyankee]

112. I was negligent in not packing the little box of macaroons in my checked bag.

It was in a lovely bag (from Laduree, a Paris tea room!)that I got at the store's CDG airport store cart. I should have known better, since I go to Europe every year. I think he knew it was just an oversight and not a big deal. Actually, I'm glad he was so gruff. I would rather have him be that way!

[FLPanhandle]

28. I fly almost every week of the year for business

I probably go through security over 150 times each year.

I've never had an issue with TSA. Of course, I know what I'm doing and don't sit and argue about removing my shoes for 5 minutes like some passengers.

I don't think the nude-o-scopes are worthwhile but I've been through them. I understand they can't be seen profiling which to me is stupid if you really want to make flying more secure, but that's not their fault.

[MineralMan]

30. That pretty much describes by last 10 flights.

In fact, I do not remember a flight where TSA workers were anything but professional. At MSP, they even smile a lot, and are especially helpful to older travelers and families..

[slampoet]

31. The problem with American has NEVER been how we treat business men.

[bluestate10]

86. Oh oh. The class warfare bomb. Anyone making more than $80,000 per

year better duck now. Even if you are middle class.

[hedgehog]

101. I travel on business, but I travel in blue jeans and a polo shirt,

sneakers or steel toe shoes. I am an overweight white woman of a certain age from a small town. My picture is in the dictionary under "person with no authority whatsoever".

[seabeyond]

33. well see, as i read first subthread, you ACCEPT the porn scans and groping. some peole feel it is

an infringement on our rights. so for you accepting these intrusive actions you feel not violation or unrest. the person that feels these are intrusions and wrong will feel a wrong.

[mistertrickster]

46. Our democratic president could stop it today if he wanted to.

The workers are not at fault for doing what they are told to do.

[seabeyond]

49. they are in that there are those that walk it with less than integrity which is what happens to some

allowed a power and control over people and embracing it. absolutely. you have some that understand their responsiblity in the position, and those that abuse it because it makes them feel better about themselves.

but i also know it is in the position of policy that is the real issue. which enables the individual worker to be in that position.

i know obama could do something. and i am disappointed that he has chosens bush's path

[jillan]

40. My personal experience is that is depends on the airport or the people working at the moment you go

thru security.

I travel with someone in a wheelchair.
Departing Phoenix was a nitemare. Departing Chicago O'Hare was a breeze.

[nichomachus]

45. Right, it is very airport dependent

San Diego always used to see my umbrella as a security threat -- no one else did. A corkscrew that had gone through three previous screenings unscathed became a weapon of mass destruction in Chicago. ("He's got a blade!!! He's got a blade!!!) A very nice man in Key West showed me how to get my metal belt buckle through without taking my belt off. (Turn it sideways) A guy in Hartford at 5 a.m. on a snowy morning informed me that the plastic bag with my liquids was 1/2-inch too big and I would have to get a smaller bag to get through.

[hedgehog]

102. Wild ass guess here - there are a lot of people in wheel chairs

departing from Phoenix. If you were a terrorist trying to smuggle something on board using a wheel chair, you go where the wheel chairs are. It makes sense Phoenix would be more scrupulous.

On the other hand, maybe people in Chicago are just more helpful than people in Phoenix!
:hide:

[UTUSN]

43. As an *in*frequent consumer, I say it's not the intrusion but rather the abuse of power

* In Boston, it was unnerving in the empty sky bridge to see 4 maximally armed dudes approaching. Just their complaisant smiles at my small startlement were unsettling.

* As I say, I'm an INfrequent, so much has to do with my not knowing what to expect or do. So the dude at a gate snarled at me to do something and I didn't understand what. The passenger in front of me turned and said my windbreaker needed to come off. O.K.

* So I had the week's subway pass in my shirt pocket and another guard flipped out about my emptying the pocket and was deflated to see it was a subway pass. At least he caught something.

* In line I watched the dude doing pat downs being particular about who he patted more extensively. It appeared to be dudes in their 20s in good shape. The kid in front of me thought the pat down was over and started to walk but the guard said, "Wait a minute, let me get your back..." And proceeded to smooth his hands over the dude's back. REALLY, it wasn't that *I* wanted the same massage, but as I prepared to lift my arms and such, the dude just waved me past. I felt short and fat for some reason...

* Went through a scanner. The female guard looked conscientious and overworked and didn't tell me where to go. There was a door with a glass box, so I went in there. I thought that was the passage out and went to the other end and reached for the other door. A supervisor LEAPT to berate the guard, telling her that I was trying to leave the box without permission. She said, "He went in there on his own. *I* didn't tell him to go in there." So, they let me out the entrance door and told me to go around the box.


I realize these comments show my own lack of savoir faire. It's Saturday morning. But there's a nugget of validity to the "abuse" I'm alleging.

[mistertrickster]

44. These people are low-wage workers earning a living. We shouldn't blame them

for policies we don't like.

[LibDemAlways]

128. What's wrong with TSA is in your post: "Low-wage workers"

The government entrusts the security of airline passengers to poorly trained, unqualified people who aren't paid much.

I suspect those interested in causing trouble aboard an aircraft are somewhat more savvy than those feeling up babies at airports because someone told them to.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sabrina 1]

71. You were in one of the states that is planning on banning

the Rapiscans and patdowns. Both NY and NJ are opposed to the Constitutional abuses of these policies.

So, it's not surprising you would not have been molested as so many others have. Thank the legislature there for their outspoken opposition to the destruction of our rights. And for your better experience as a traveler as a result. At least eight states now are moving to ban the TSA abusive patdowns. See here, Texas just did http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1100077&mesg_id=1100077

[bluestate10]

73. I never have problems with airport screening when I travel. I was picked

twice during my many travels for the wand check. The agent did his job and I moved on. Nothing that was done was offensive and the agents were professional. If people don't want pat-downs, maybe they should listen the fuck up when agents are telling them what they must remove before walking through detectors.

[WinkyDink]

80. I'd expect the travesties to be a small percentage. But, as with teachers and under-age sex stories,

or police and brutality stories, we publicize the miscreant behavior to KEEP it in the small percentage.

[blueamy66]

84. The TSA employees are morons.

I was singled out cause I had a one way ticket to Vegas...cause my guy travels for a living and was in Vegas and we were driving back together.

Anyway, they pulled me outta line and double searched me. The couple behind me had to open their luggage, which was full of grass clippings or marijuana or SOMETHING....the TSA looked at their luggage and sent them thru. Me, they pulled everything outta my carry on, searched it all, touched it all and then sent me thru.

WTF?

[bluestate10]

87. You had a one way ticket. What do you expect them to do?

They did the right thing. You used the term "moron" in your post and likely used some other terms when the TSA agents were trying to get you to cooperate. A lesson for next time. If you have something going on that stand out and cause you to get flagged, try calmly explaining your situation instead of feeling set upon. Most likely, all you would have had to do was produce a drivers license with the address that you were driving back to. The couple with the green stuff in their luggage likely go through because they were cooperative when asked questions that needed to be asked.

[Name removed]

89. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LibDemAlways]

126. It's pathetic that the US entrusts airport security to

a bunch of idiots whose only other job option is asking "Do you want to supersize that?" It's even more pathetic that some of the American public believes these morons are capable of keeping them safe.

[SDuderstadt]

127. Governor Kasich...

is that you?

[mnhtnbb]

85. Our last trip to LaGuardia hubby was felt up 3 times--wanted to comment he was Major, USAF, retired

and was the TSA guy getting a boner?

[blueamy66]

119. Amen.

You took the words rightouttamymouth.

[Marblehead]

95. Ben Franklin said

" Those willing to give up liberty for security deserve neither and will lose both "

[SDuderstadt]

98. They didn't have terrorists trying to...

blow-up airplanes in Franklin's day either.

[whatchamacallit]

106. Police State security is awesome, Chomsky is a moron...

:wtf: DU

[Name removed]

107. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Zax2me]

115. Someone didn't tell good ole Ben about Islamic terrorists

Who want to blow up as many Americans as possible.
I think he might have a different opinion today.

[Gravel Democrat]

123. The Revolutionary war was a walk in the park

that little thing in 1812 was a fire drill too

[LanternWaste]

129. Or twinkies...

Or twinkies... :shrug:

[treestar]

111. Does that mean no security checks for air travel?

[Bill McBlueState]

103. no surprise there

I've had plenty of interactions with TSA personnel who have their act together. But anecdotes in no way invalidate the opposition to TSA tactics.

[Philippine expat]

109. I travel frequently

and for the most part have found TSA employees to be OK. Just like everything
and everywhere else they have their 10%.

[LibDemAlways]

110. Last TSA badge-wearer I had the misfortune of coming into

contact with was a mean, nasty individual with a giant chip on her shoulder who inexplicably emptied the entire contents of my wallet into a plastic tray and dropped it to the ground.

Happy for you that you had better luck.

[SDuderstadt]

113. Omigod! Really?

Have you contacted Amnesty International yet?

[petronius]

114. The last time I went through security (at SFO), one of the TSA agents was drawing a map

of the terminal and writing out instructions for a passenger in line who was apparently deaf and a bit nervous about the process. I've noticed that the people at some airports seem consistently pleasant and others less so - it really seems that there is a local leadership variability that plays a big role. The map-drawing officer told me that (although it looks the same) some airports are TSA and others are private companies, which could be part of it... :shrug:

[LanternWaste]

130. I've begun using the train and buses more often.

I've begun using the train and buses a lot more often in the past ten years. Less headaches for me all the way around.

[spanone]

131. i flew last thanksgiving when all folks were up in the air....

and i experienced the same as you......

friendly, kind and courteous