Airport Security

---

We talked quite a bit last night about how many carry on bags we'd be allowed to have, and this morning we found that both sides of the discussion were right. I was correct that we were allowed only one bag per passenger, but Nancy was right that she'd have a little pull to be able to get us past the rules. Her influence wasn't too huge though, as we were allowed just one extra bag for the four of us, and that bag would be my camera bag. So, with a BMI rep with us, we headed for security after checking in. A blonde lady in her twenties informed us (me) immediately that I was only allowed one bag. I told her I knew that was the case but that we had been allowed special clearance by her shift supervisor, but she said again that I was allowed only one bag, totally not listening to me or even considering that I might not be lying. Then the BMI rep took out her cell phone and put the blonde lady on the phone with Wendy, the security shift supervisor, and Wendy set the blonde girl straight. So she let us through unhappily (having been proved wrong), but then after we'd all passed her, the blonde lady called me back in order to test my other carry on, a small "carry on" sized black case, to make sure it fit in the little crate thing that you see at every airport to make sure your carry on is the right size. Well, I can't tell you the last time that I saw somebody actually use one of those, either by choice or because they were asked to, but she took my bag and checked it and we found that it was about half an inch or so too long. The pull-out handle was preventing it from fitting properly. So blonde girl was suddenly on a huge power trip and wasn't going to let me pass because of a half inch. So I explained to her that I'd flown 7 flights in and out of the UK in the last 3 weeks with this bag as a carry on, but she didn't care, and she called Wendy about it, and Wendy said they'd allow us the extra bag, but not an oversized bag. So I was about ready to break the handle off, and then Wendy arrived and saw how ridiculous the blonde girl was being, and she let us through. We didn't stop talking about what a jerk the blonde girl was until we'd landed in Chicago. The flight was probably the best flight I've ever taken. It didn't hurt of course that we were flying business class. The best part was, though, that since we were filming the chef prepare our lunch, I was able to get up and move around and be out of my seat several times during the flight. That brief activity made a big difference. I watched The Good German, which was good, and Catch and Release, which was totally hokey, but it does star Jennifer Garner, who for me will live on forever only as Sydney Bristow. The flight was over 8 hours, but it went by quick. What didn't go quick was getting from O'hare to my parents house in DeKalb. I needed to find a Washington Mutual along the way and the stupid automated operator kept thinking when I said Aurora, Illinois that I was saying Paloma, Illinois, until finally it got Aurora right but thought I said Miami instead of Illinois. Then the rental car's tires were way overinflated even though the underinflation alarm was flashing, and the stupid tolls aren't labeled very nice, so a one hour drive took more like two. Oh well. It was good to be home.

---

Photos

Flying over Greenland
in the middle of the flight, we suddenly looked out the window and the view over Greenland was amazing. I probably shot 40 pictures.