Airports...

Airports crack me up. Given this post-911 world/nation we live in, it is just a little humorous to stand back and watch the things we have to do to board a plane. Now, I'm in Kansas City, which, surprisingly, is a little nicer than Oklahoma City airport, however, the security measures are the same...

Its been a few years since I've flown by myself... well, before 911 that I've been anywhere on a plane by myself. My friend dropped me off at the airport and told me, "Now, you're probably going to get flagged... "

"Why's that?" I asked him...

"Single male, one-way ticket, backpack... just don't be surprised if you get pulled aside."

Having traveled quite a bit in my lifetime, I figured, "eh, this is a domestic, 1 hour flight... doubtful I get searched at all."

So apparently, a peacoat jacket, a grande white mocha from Starbucks, my Mac, and cool little emo hat are a red flag in the domestic 1 hour one-way flight terrorism department.

"Sir, will you step aside please?"...
"Sure. Everything okay?"
"Yes, I need you to remove your items from your backpack" (given it had already gone through the metal detectors)

*removing items* "That's pretty much it... my laptop, iPhone, iPod, a few sets of reference headphones."

"Sir, I need to take these items to run a test on them"

".... uh... okay"

Now understand, at this point I'm holding my removed jacket and hoodie, standing barefoot inside the terminal while everyone else is skirting by..

I can't say I was the only one... there was a 60 or 70 year old man behind me that they kept making him strip on more article of clothing and then walk back through the metal detector. That was actually quite funny...

I understand that "everyone" is a threat for domestic terrorism. Some more so than others, and that profiling based on stereotypes aren't PC... but c'mon, I struggled with legos and erector sets as a child... not sure that coming up with a high tech bomb at this point in my life is the line of work I really want to go into.

Oh crap, I wonder if they are monitoring my computer when I just typed bomb... dangit... that's 2 b-words.

All in all, I am sitting in the chair closest to the metal detectors just to people watch at this point... their reactions are funny when they are asked to remove an item... its eerily similar to cattle herding... the one guy directing everyone and "prodding" them when they don't know where to go or what to do... "Heee-ya!"

Great weekend though... always tough moving a friend. I hate to see him leave, but its a great opportunity for him and a good thing at this point. Plus, it gives me an excuse to get out of Oklahoma City every now and again and come to Kansas City. Kansas City is actually kind of neat... lots of history here.

I learned a little about myself in this trip...
I'm a pretty horrible listener... I am a 'fixer' and want to always put my 2-cents in... sometimes we just have to be a sounding board and just keep our mouths shut.

Anyone that has ever talked to me knows that it is typical for me to instantly respond with a "Cool!", or "Awesome", or "Wow"... whether or not the situation calls for one of those? It's just my 'reaction' words that lets someone know that I'm paying attention... I really need to get some new words. I found myself being a good listener with poor reactions to subject matter that really is a little deeper than a 'cool'... or an 'awesome'.

I've gotta say though, I learned a lot about God this weekend... about how God still works in situations that are less than desireable. But the key is, he still works!

Praise God.

Alright, calling my boarding letter...