My lovely wife and I just flew back from our honeymoon in the Denver area. I was glad to have reciprocity there for my TX CHL. Frontier Airlines handled my checked XD just fine for the flights to and from Austin. When it came time to go through the security checkpoint, things started happening. While screening our carry-on suitcase, one screener called over another, and more kept coming to look. Meanwhile, my wife and I are looking at each other wondering what we did wrong. Then a camera crew came over and started filming the x-ray viewer and getting footage of the screeners!
Then my wife was thinking about what was packed in the suitcase that would have caused trouble, when she remembered that she packed some belt buckles that we had bought in Estes Park, including one that looked very much like this:
YIKES! Big mistake! My wife had forgotten about it when she was packing stuff we had bought. I would have thought that the camera crew was part of the TSA except for how much gear they had (two cameras, a boom mic, and a few other people). When we got through the line, we found out they are from the ABC network, filming footage for a show in the fall of 2008 called "Border Security". They interviewed my wife and me. At one point, she had to run back out of the secure zone and over to the post office to mail it. They followed her with one of the cameras, filming her having to ship the gun.
While I was left behind, they interviewed me and asked what I thought of the TSA. They were obviously trying to get me to express dissatisfaction about the TSA. While I'm not a fan of the liquid restrictions they now have, I wasn't gonna let them cast us as upset about a "no fake guns" rule. It was a stupid thing for us to do, and the TSA did just fine with it. Meanwhile, they're asking about how we felt and whether we were worried about missing our flight. They did ask about our wedding and honeymoon.
By the time my wife returned, it was right at boarding time, so we were in a rush to get to the flight. They followed us all the way to the escalator that goes to the train, probably trying to show that we were in fact rushed.
The TSA guys were nice about it; they said that it happens every few months. I told him that I definitely knew the rules: "The real gun is checked." (I definitely didn't say that to ABC.)
So maybe you'll see one of your forum members on TV this fall wearing the most ugly shirt he had packed on the trip.
-Brent
