"Tis The Season For Stress and Mess
Stuck in an airport, behind massive delays, cancellations, and other stressed travelers. Not to mention TSA. An airport isn't just where you want to be during the holidays, where seemingly anything that can go wrong, often times does. Those of us who knew airport travel in the 20th century know of a different time and place. Air travel often meant cosmopolitan style and a sense of status. However, living in a post 9/11 society, those days are long gone. Air travel is a whole new ballgame.There are different types of airline passengers. The one that makes life miserable for EVERYONE is the universal stupid ones. In a crown such as the average airport during holiday travel, they're there. Hidden in plane sight.
There are the ones who cause pain and suffering for everyone. Travelling during the holiday season, airports are rife with them. They never walk around with dumb-dumb on their foreheads, however their actions will allow them to reveal their true identity. The biggest idiot has to be the ones that tick off TSA. Words of wisdom, never battle against TSA. You can not under any circumstances win this one.
Take the passengers who go through TSA with the novelty small knife that to the untrained eye is a tube of lip stick. These items, although they seem harmless are in fact
looked at as weapons. And for that matter, you can get arrested, fined, and possibly walk away with a misdemeanor. TSA routinely confiscates small but effective weapons that passengers may consider harm less. Then there is the shot gun shell flashlight. although it can easily be scene to be a flash light, these types of items can cause the TSA to slow down or even come to a grinding halt. In 2015, a teenager in Canada went through airport security with an alarm clock fashioned to look like a stick of dynamite, complete with a timer looking clock on the front. When going through the scanner, it was detected triggering the bomb
squad being called. The end result was the teen being charged with criminal mischief. Another popular contraband is the hand grenade cigarette. Although it can eventually seen to be a lighter, such a item will shut an airport down immediately causing a chain reaction of events ultimately ending in flight delays and irate travelers. Knives encased in lip stick tubes, novelty time bomb alarm clocks, and other seemingly harmless items will in fact make life miserable for those seeking a normal flight experience.
The most annoying is the loud and obnoxious cell phone user. Sometimes you don't know which is worse. The loud and constant talking, or the conversation content. If they're wealthy, they want everyone to know it. recently purchased a new upscale car they want everyone to know it. Kids excelling in school or extracurricular activities, especially if its sports, they want everyone to know it. Seemingly they have more people to talk to while flying than they do on the ground.
One way to almost guarantee an heated argument, is to touch other people's luggage - a very dumb move. Pulling out other people's luggage in order to make room for your own is a serious fire starter. Usually a shouting match will ensue and rightfully so. This creates a tense ride with everyone onboard.
Only an idiot provokes an argument with TSA. In the wake of 9/11, the first wave of TSA new hires were seemingly spawns of the devil. The reputation of the average agent was that they were of the breed, confined to grandmother's basement, lost in a world of video games, internet porn, and purveyors of the most absurd conspiracy theories. Becoming TSA gave them power that working at the local Game Stop and Best Buy didn't afford, and they wielded it. Truth be told, they take their job serious and can make travel very unpleasant. One sure way to frustrate a TSA agent and fellow travelers is not having your ID and ticket readily available. This slows the line up. The most criminally dumb thing to do while traveling through the airport is make jokes about terrorism, bombs, bullets, and etc. One unfortunate airline passenger who was very less than intelligent actually wore a shirt with the words, "BOMB" on the front in Orlando Airport. This foolish act resulted in him being followed throughout by airport police.
Another pet peeve is forgetting contraband items in luggage and pockets. Also forgetting your items and luggage on the belt. Once again this creates a delay, further complicating the normal flow which is already stressful as it is. Attempting to sneak liquids that exceed the legal limit through security. Never get into a spitting contest with the "blue shirters".