Boarding a plane in Johannesburg and hearing that we are delayed because someone checked their luggage but didn't board the plane.
Thankfully, they removed the person's luggage, but that got my nerves all in a stitch and I began to people watch.
It is so odd to me that airports sell alcohol and lighters in the terminal.
Because flammable liquids and flame throwers just scream, "Winning combination for safe travel!"
So, when two men boarded the plane with large bags of alcohol they'd just purchased in the duty free store, you can bet the Jack Bauer in me came out and I watched them like a hawk.
Until I gave in to sweet slumber about two hours into the 18 hour or so flight, but that's beside the point. I'm pregnant.
I'm not sure what was more reassuring over time...the fact that one of the men was reading a John Grisham novel (and I'm pretty sure that's not the last book a terrorist reads when they're about to meet their 72 virgins) or the fact that he later chose "The Time Traveler's Wife" for his movie selection. Either way, he became less of a terrorist and more of a cuddly little puppy in my mind.
We had a layover in Senegal and some new passengers boarded. My hackles were again raised when a flight attendant announced that two passengers needed to present themselves to a member of the crew because they'd checked in, but didn't board.
The two last names?
No, not Jones and Smith.
Ibrahim and Muhammed.
Sweet Moses, I needed a Xanax by that point.
Now, those names wouldn't concern me in most instances, just when those names happen to be mentioned because they didn't bother to board after they checked their baggage.
So now the Jack Bauer and the Angus MacGyver in me came out.
I don't know why I threw MacGyver's name out, except that he was a crime fighter, too.
And, he didn't like guns. Which was good, because they don't let you bring guns on planes anyway.
But they do let you bring alcohol and lighters on board and I've seen an episode or 80 where MacGyver found a clever way to use those two things to his advantage.
We departed from Senegal a little late, but with no concluding word on what happened with our friends with Muslim-but-that-doesn't-mean-terrorist-maybe-they-were-actually-children's-authors-or-stand-up-comedians-I'm-trying-to-be-PC-but-also-not-live-with-my-head-stuck-where-the-sun-don't-shine-names.
Later, when I got tired again and really just wanted to sleep and not be Jack Bauer or MacGyver anymore, I strolled to the back of the plane, found a flight attendant and casually inquired if they'd located the missing men and she assured me they had.
Clearly, I, Ibrahim, Muhammed and Man Watching The Time Traveler's Wife all arrived at our intended destinations without ending up as breaking news.
And, if there's anything I learned during that 18 hour flight, it was that maybe the FAA allows alcohol on board for a reason. It turns out I sure could've used a couple of swigs from those bottles of wine to help me through
2 comments:
You know, it scares me sometimes that my last name is Amin because although I am not muslim, it is also a muslim last name. I would have maybe scared you too:) I hate how our world has become because of some radical people. I think most people assume anyone brown is muslim too. Not saying you, but I know alot of people who assume and it bothers me that people think me or any of my family would be capable of hurting anyone when we board a plane. I find myself always looking over my shoulder and wondering if they think we are terrorist.
I agree, it is a sad, sad thing. I hate that you ever have to wonder about that for your family. It's just not fair or right that a bunch of radical people can change the way we filter things.
I've wondered if Muslims ever board a plane and are fine until they see a series of actions made by someone of middle eastern descent that heightens their awareness and causes them to pay more attention. You know, middle easterners profiling other middle easterners. Because you can bet that if a bunch of Asian terrorists initiated a global jihad against westerners, I'd be checking out all the Asians boarding my plane. And hoping they didn't all have black belts in Karate.
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