Blown Engines and Airport Nudity

A week goes by without even logging into the internet, but that doesn't mean it was uneventful. We found ourselves up in Cedar Rapids, Ia. ready to head for home when our car "blew up". Cracked a block, blew a head gasket..whatever...the bottom line was, Oil entering the radiator, lots of very very white smoke as a strange liquid oozed onto the engine, and a really stinky heater/defroster.

Well, calling around to the whole list of rental car companies in that city didn't do any good..they were ALL out of cars. The only thing available was from "Rent a Wreck" which is pretty cool...its just an older vehicle than the name brand rental places. They were able to fix us up, but the drawback...it had to be returned to the same place. Uggh,,..so we got it, got our stuff home, and then took it back...leaving me the need to get home. Thanks to a suggestion by Marbella, Cheaptickets.com proved very helpful.

It has been years, maybe decades, since I had flown public airlines, but based on things picked up here and there in the media, going "prepared" was somewhat easier. Leaving all my keys and pocket knife and anything metal at home, having no luggage, but still feeling like Columbo...going thru from point A to B to C was gradually & successfully progressing, until...

Now before we get to the security scan, there is already some apprehension, since the LAST time I went thru one of those I got escorted into a private security interview room where they just about put me in jail for not remembering that in my carry-on was a cap pistol and holster that I had bought at the last minute for my son before heading to the Oklahoma City airport. (They didn't allow such things to be purchased in California where the boy awaited eagerly). After sweating it out, that story eventually ended up with me placing the gift in a separate box and sending it thru in the cargo hold.

...so here again as I step up to the plate, they have me put my watch and anything metal in the pan...done. Feeling smug about having to put only a watch and a pair of reading glasses in the trough, they then tell me to take off my coat and put it on the same conveyor to be scanned. I complied. But its obvious I'm kind of "Gee...am I going to have to strip?" when she makes some comments about the snaps on my overalls and says "now your shoes".

Thinking she was reading my mind I laughed and said "Yeah! Thats probably next"...but she stood there waiting. As she stood there, it slowly began to dawn on me that she MIGHT be serious? I laughed and just incredulously asked "are you SERIOUS?"...she was. (As I took those shoes off it seemed ironic that this was a SECURITY checkpoint for the safety and well being of others...even with odor eater sprays those shoes were best left on unless removed outdoors).

At this point I'm really getting concerned about my overalls, but remembering that I had boxers on was a bit comforting. After going thru the x-ray thingy they tell me I'd been selected for some closer screening. So they lead me off to the side and "pat me down" and take a closer look at my few belongings. (Someone explained to me this was because I had bought my ticket and departed within a 24 hour period).

Finally getting home and still not unpacked from unloading the rent a wreck, spending some time with little Grace and taking Mrs. Beans out for a birthday dinner, watching some episodes from the original Star Trek series...and went to bed.

So before the house cleaning and stuff organizing gets started today..finally time to catch up just a little on this computer. Quickly checking the television ..uggh...politicking and campaign trails have begun...with one candidate proudly proclaiming that "yeah" she voted for giving the president blah blah blah, but had she known then what she knows now she would NOT have"...I'm thinking, WOW...heres a chance to elect someone for president who can't see far ahead but can make definite judgements "after the fact" on how she would have done things different...Time to turn the TV off, or put in another DVD.

Tomorrow the process begins into the new job.