Got to the airport a few hours early, and couldn't enter just yet with the warm sunshine on my shoulders. So me and my purple balloon soaked up some last rays. The blue sky is through the skylight in the food court :)
When it was time to go through security, I overheard a gentleman ask which machine his wife should go through if she has a pacemaker, and the TSA agent advised that she should not use the big back scatter machines, and instead look for a line that had the standard metal detection doorway, like the one at line #13.
Being longer than all the others, I naturally went straight for line 13. Flying to Michigan with Frankie and Loki, we took full advantage of the 'family friendliness' of security and skipped the main line. I was emboldened by that experience, and remembered the funny accelerated and racy feelings I had after going through the back-scatter X-ray the one time I was shooed through before I could say 'boo'. Plus I'm usually running and don't leave myself enough time to evaluate all options, and occasionally must take a lesson.
Yep, life schools me all right. Well I remember feeling violated; and that lesson stuck with me.
So here is me turning my lesson around, and instead of surrendering my civil rights and privacy so the security screeners can invade ALL the people, I brought my screening to the eyes of ALL the people.. and had a really, really, really good time. Yep, life schools me all right. Well I remember feeling violated; and that lesson stuck with me.
>~_^< Meooow!
he: "Please step right through here miss.."
d(B): "I'd much prefer to step through there."
he: "Well you won't be going through that one .. It's this one we're using now."
d(B): "How else can I get from here to there?"
he: "Are you comfortable with a thorough female pat down?"
d(B): "Oh quite! What determines whether you get a female or male pat down, please?"
he: <Two eyebrows up, jaw drops>
d(B): < grin> "It's okay, I'll just take the female since you offered it."
she: "Hello miss, step right over here .. Are these your bags?
d(B): "Oh no.. Mine are over there.. Yes, From that bag with the scarves.. to the purple balloon."
she: <One eyebrow up, slow smile..> " you okay with this in public, or you wanna go somewhere private?"
d(B): "I am toooo-tally fine right here."
she: "Ok ma'am, here's what I am going to do with front of my hands, and here's where I'll use the back of my hands.. Here, we'll use a swooping motion, and when I get there, I'm gonna ask you to stand with one leg forward, then the other. Do you have any sensitive areas?"
d(B): < Big smile> "...only my heart."
she: "All right I'monna start now with your hair.. ooh, nice, did this tattoo on your back hurt?"
d(B): "Ohhh yes.. Only one I have though, so I can't compare.."
she: "Well let me tell you, think twice about putting one on your feet!"
d(B): "Noo, really? I did think about it once already, they're soo.."
she: "Pretty, right? I know! Most pain I have ever experienced.. Alright, you are all set.. Now let me help you get these totes over here so you can take your time.."
Seriously, by far the most fun I have had at an airport in a LONG time.
Seriously, by far the most fun I have had at an airport in a LONG time.
***from the ACLU website: http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/aclu-backgrounder-body-scanners-and-virtual-strip-searches ***
"Security is never absolute and never will be. It is not wise security policy to
spend heavily to protect against one particular type of plot, when the number of
plots that can be launched – not only against airlines, but also against other
targets – is infinite. Limited security dollars should be invested where they
will do the most good and have the best chance of thwarting attacks. That means
investing them in developing competent intelligence and law enforcement agencies
that will stop terrorists before they show up at the airport."
Ebenezer Baptist Church in the Fourth Ward - Atlanta
Reflecting on this trip, I have experienced a major attitude adjustment regarding my employment.. And it was needed! I am indeed blessed by this charmed life of mine. To fly off and spend a week working on a monumentally historic national park.. one that is not a wilderness, a natural wonder.. but a sacred urban renewal endeavor to preserve the memory, the courage, and the incredibly powerful teachings of a man that stood up for ALL men, every day of his life.. and it was taken from him for it. In doing so nonviolently, with only the word of God and unconditional Love to protect and defend and make that stand, he forever changed the course of history in this nation.. and swung the pendulum significantly closer to justice, equality, and respect for our fellow Hue-mans throughout the world.
I am honored to be part of an organization that supports the preservation of this place; that others may come here and experience the life and times of Martin Luther King, Sr., Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, and every man, woman and child affected by segregation, racism, hatred, and the violence that accompany them.
Dani(B)elle
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