Carry On

Unless you had no contact with the outside world today through TV, radio, the internet, or word of mouth, everyone is well aware of the terrorist plot that was foiled early this morning across the pond in the UK.  One of the first images I saw when I turned on to the news this morning was video footage of airline passengers griping because they couldn't take a bottle of hair gel or saline solution in their carry-on bag.  In fact, as time went on, they weren't allowed to even take a carry-on bag.  Well boo-hoo.  I would think the passengers flying today would be happy to turn over a bottle of sunscreen or perfume to make sure they reach their destination in one piece.  Personally speaking,  I would gladly toss a new bottle of Obsession cologne into the bin if it meant I would make it safely home. 

I don't mean to lessen the fact that a wide scale terrorist plot was thwarted today (I never thought I would ever be able to use the word "thwarted" in my blog) but I'm a firm believer that something good comes out of something bad, and the same is with the drama today.  I'll be the first to say that I hope the airlines will keep the ban on carry-on luggage forever.  This has been one of my pet peeves since I started flying back in the early 80's.  I never was one to have a huge carry-on bag.  Going to my destination, I only carried my purse.  Coming back home, I only had a carry-on bag if I had souvenirs that I couldn't cram into my suitcase.  In the last ten times I've travelled, I can only think of one time I actually put a carry-on bag in the overhead bin when I was travelling.  I know how inconvenient it is for the passengers that don't have carry-on luggage, so I tried my best to not be one of "them."  There's nothing worse than dealing with this on a full plane.  On my trip back to Louisville from Las Vegas last month, I had to get up from my seat 4 times during the flight so the guy sitting next to me could get out in the aisle and rummage through his carry-on bag stored in the overhead bin.  If I could, I would have yanked him up and crammed in the bin with his bag. 

Nobody even pays any attention to the metal frame that is by the desk in the terminal.  You know what I'm talking about - it's a frame that and a sign that says "all carry-on baggage must fit into this frame."  Maybe now they'll start paying attention. 

I'm sorry for the probably millions of people that were inconvenienced today by having to throw away things in their carry-on bags, and I'm sorry they had to wait hours and hours to reach their destination.  But thank the good Lord there were no casualties today from the terrorist plot.  Everyone that works in the airports around the world deserve major props for all they did today.  Thank for keeping everybody safe.