A Mad Magazine slogan I’ve taken to heart.
I received an email, asking if I had any comment to make about the terror plot to blow up a dozen jet liners last week…causing transatlantic flight chaos between Britain and North America, the banning of carry-on luggage, the banning of liquids, hundreds of cancelled flights, etc…
To be honest, my reaction was a big, fat “MEH”…which can be reduced to two basic thoughts:
(1) Welcome to the new reality — it keeps getting bigger and bigger, and more irritatingly real. It’s a security threat, and a realistic one, and I’d rather be over-cautious than have a dozen planes explode over the Atlantic Ocean. So I’ll stoically suffer through the line ups, the X-rays, the body searches, and the shoe tests. All of this indicates to me that most of our security precautions are working…and our security and police services are also on the ball.
(2) That said, I’m certainly glad I escaped Britain when I did. My carry-on was full of souvenirs and back up clothing — I can’t imagine stuffing it all into my very full suitcase at the last minute. But that pales in comparison to the potential flight experience: boredom hell! Can you imagine spending an entire 7.5 hour flight without a book, a discman, a walkman, or a lap top? Two hundred plus passengers, staring at the ceiling. I certainly hope the in-flight movies and complimentary airline magazines were able to keep people occupied…however, in my experience, the magazines are fluff and the movies are complete gobshite. I’m surprised the passengers didn’t revolt and re-take their personal entertainment devices from the cargo deck!
As for the ban on liquids…I would have been irritated by being separated from my contact lens case & solution (they’re vital on a long, dry flight), but I could have lived with stowing my toiletries with my checked luggage…after all, that’s what I’ve always done!
So…terror has been nipped successfully in the bud once again, airline travel continues to sink into barely tolerable, Hadean realms of comfort, and the world of vacations and trips continues undaunted. All we can do is resign ourselves to the situation, adapt and make do, otherwise we’re simply going to stay home, twiddling our thumbs. There’s no point in worrying over things you can’t control.
