Adventures With the TSA

Who doesn't love a man in uniform?

Let's face it, TSA is always in the news, and the media rarely puts a positive spin on it. But 10 years later, the mention of TSA still cracks me up.

We used to travel quite a bit when Boo was little.  By the fall of 2001, at the ripe old age of 7, Boo could navigate the airport pretty well.

Then 9/11 happened.

Since I grew up on a military base in Germany, the sight of heavily-armed guards was not a big deal to me.  But, I realize they can be pretty intimidating to most.

The first time we flew post-9/11, I spent a great deal of time explaining to Boo that things would be different.  He had seen the news and was concerned about safety, so we talked quite a bit about the soldiers that would be at the airport to make sure we were safe.  I showed him pictures of soldiers and detailed the new security procedures.

We went through security at our regional airport with no problems, as it was exactly how Boo expected it to be.  He was nervous, but held it together great.

Then we got to Dallas. 

As we made our way to McDonald's, we were trudging along with the crowd of mostly business people, all quietly, quickly, getting to where we needed to go.  We passed one of the many security points that fed into the terminal, when I saw it: a male member of the National Guard, in complete combat gear including weapons, leaning against the X-ray machine flirting with a young, female TSA agent.  Seriously, it looked like a scene from "A Night at the Roxbury."

Unfortunately, Boo saw it, too.  He stopped cold, nearly tripping up the folks behind us, points at the pair, and shouts, "That man is NOT keeping us safe!"

Everyone around us cracked up, but sadly, the young couple in question did not even notice the pointing, the loud declaration, or the small crowd laughing.  So much for security.