Christmas Travel 2009: Snowpocalypse? What Snowpocalypse?
I’m sitting at the Dane County airport where Internet is free thanks to Google. Thanks Google!
I chose to get here bright and early because I figured it would be chaos, what with the media reporting we were in the midst of the great Christmas Snowpocalypse of 2009 and all. Turns out all of the flights are running on time. It is pretty much a ghost town and the few people who were in front of me were amateurs. I’ve flown so much since I originally trained Transportation Security Administration personnel back in 2002 that I have the system down. Coat off, belt off, shoes off, laptop out, i.d. and ticket ready. I should be able to slip through security check in only a couple of minutes. Sadly, the five passengers ahead of me aren’t quite so skilled in the art of travel. Coats, babies, shoes, bags, laptops, all on their persons and being removed as they get to the x-ray machine. People, that stuff should be off before you get to the end of the line. Please stop chaffing my pet peeves. Thankfully, one of the agents saw me standing with my shoes, coat, belt and laptop all piled in my arms ready to go and let me cut ahead.
However, with a lack of passengers coming through the TSA agents are so bored they’ve decided to use it as an opportunity to pat everyone down who comes through the gate. Without my belt my jeans don’t stay up very well as someone is feeling up my legs. Awkward.
Now here I sit with two hours to kill before my flight. I wonder if the airport Great Dane has bloody marys?
Worth noting: If my math is right after this trip I should have enough frequent flyer miles for a free ticket to the UK. Neat. Life is good.
I love airports where they have a line just for people who know what they’re doing.