Why YES, Mr. TSA man, I would like to check this 3.4 ounce container of pomade…
Most of the time when I travel, I don’t check a bag. This past week, I left Monday morning and got home Thursday night, and didn’t check a bag. I was on 4 separate flights in that time. This trip, I brought along a container of hair stuff, called pomade, in a small container like this one.
Two flights on Monday were fine, one flight on Tuesday was fine. But Thursday, oh Thursday, at Reagan National in DC, I got the “Hawk”. The most skilled TSA guy in the system.
Scenario: I was waiting for my stuff to come out of the dark and mysterious baggage scanning machine.
TSA Guy: BAG CHECK!!! BAG CHECK!!!! WE HAVE SOMETHING!!!
Me: Ruh roh.
TSA Guy: (stops everything and pulls my little ziplock bag off the conveyor belt and holds it above his head). WHOS IS THAT??
Me: (Since I was the only one standing there, I looked around) Mine.
TSA Guy: (takes out the pomade) All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller container. (he looks at the container) This is 3.4 ounces.
(to be honest, I thought pomade was in the category of a deodorant stick, which is fine if larger than 3 ounces, what do I know, the line is kind of gray on some of the liquids/solids)
TSA Guy: Do you want to check this?
So of course I was not going to check a small 3.4 ounce container of hair product. But after I had a beer waiting for my flight, I started thinking about. Why the (expletive deleted) not? Why not go back out to the ticket counter and check it? Not my travel bag, but just the one single item. Why not participate in this madness? If the system has gone so far to one side, why not play along with crazy. So next time, I am going to take the toothpaste, moisturizer, pen, vizine, or whatever they decide that day to focus on, head back to the freakin counter, AND CHECK IT!!!
I wonder how small of an item you can check anyway. Could I check a paperback book? If it has to be in a bag, I could put it in a change purse or something. Could I have checked my ziplock bag? Why not? What if I was only traveling for the day and had my briefcase, but wasn’t going to check that, but didn’t want to part with my toiletries. I assume I could check a ziplock bag.
And hope for better travel experience slowly slips away like ice melting in the shade.