Rant

I find this really irritating.  I was in Italy when the British police supposedly foiled some terrorist plans.  I was told I could take NOTHING on the plane with me except a clear plastic bag with my wallet and passport. No electronic devices and no liquids.  I had a few mosquito bites so I decided to try and sneak on my anti-itch cream.  The man at the airport looked right at it and didn’t say a word.  As a matter of fact, when I got on the plane I noticed that most people still had their cell phones, ipods, an plenty of other items on the list of banned items.  After that I didn’t worry about it.  When we got to Chicago I pulled a few things out of my bag and managed to get through security there and in Dallas with out a problem.  

A couple of weeks ago I flew to Austin.  I didn’t worry about the stuff in my bag because it was the same stuff I took to Italy.  Big mistake.  The people at the Bakersfield airport obliviously take their jobs very seriously.  Either that or they just don’t have anything better to do.  They searched my bag and removed all items that looked somewhat gel like, including my mascara.  Yeah, I’m sure somebody is in danger somewhere because of mascara.  Then they frisked me!  I have never been through such a serious security check.  

On the way back I didn’t have a problem.  Mostly because everything I owned of gel substance had already been thrown away.  But the guys at the Austin airport didn’t seem nearly as uptight.  Of course, it IS Austin.

Now that they’re finally relaxing the ban on liquids, I wonder what the security guards in Bakersfield are going to do with themselves.