A Nod To The Gods

It’s rare that I climb on a plane to go anywhere, this trip required four flights. The flights themselves were your basic plane ride, climb on board, go to your seat, watch some asshole loading an over sized carry on into the overhead bin, listen to the screaming kid, the obnoxious loud talker, the flight attendant instructions blaring through the ear splitting speakers, and watching varying forms of weird personal behavior. All of this, I assume, was a normal flight. I survived.

I can handle the irritation of flying in exchange for the speed of travel, but the one thing, the only thing that absolutely chaps my ass is dealing with TSA.

As your standing in a line that wraps around, down, over, back up, twisting through stanchion barriers, you get an opportunity to people watch. For the most part normal people with blank stares being directed like cattle to a TSA ticket taker at the end of the previously mentioned unbelievably long line.
I get the curtly nod to move on after ticket and picture ID are approved to the next segment of my lost personal freedoms. I am greeted by a very large TSA lady loudly and sternly giving directions as to what our next tasks are.Attaining the goal of hitting the conveyor belts I am ordered to lose the shoes and empty pockets, I load up the plastic bin and shove it on its merry way down the conveyor belt as I go stand in the next line to the body scanner.
Another irritatingly bitchy TSA female orders me to the yellow footprints in the scanner, motions me to raise my arms, the scanner hums by and I am waved out like I have been standing there far to long. I stand with other shoe-less travelers awaiting the plastic bins holding our belongings and footwear, one young woman is getting the pat down treatment, she is in tears, my wife is having her carry on checked for some unknown reason, we were never told why, an old man is having a difficult time gathering his items and getting his shoes and belt back on, he nearly has his pants fall to his knees.
Finally we are free of the TSA and head to the next line to await our boarding call.
Of the four flights I took this kind of thing happened every time.

As I stood there in line for the TSA screenings I couldn’t help think that there were a large number of TSA personnel on shift. This is one terminal handling four airlines, there must have been over a hundred TSA employees working, multiply that by the terminals and gates that have TSA entries and the number of TSA agents is astounding and they are government employees, unionized and paid for by Joe taxpayer in every airport in the country. The cost has got to be enormous.

I feel for people who have to travel frequently for business, I assume that the security is worth it, I do think there must be a better way.