Airport Patdowns and Full Body Screenings

First off, let me tell you that I don’t like to fly anymore.

I used to enjoy traveling by commercial air carriers, but that was before the airlines started charging for every little thing that used to be included in the price of a ticket.

A passenger gets scanned.
TSA photo

I enjoyed those days when my friends or family waved me goodbye from just outside the doorway to the tunnel passageway to the airplane, then directly walking onto the aircraft and being warmly greeted. Once airborne I felt welcome when the stewardess asked if I wanted a pillow, maybe a blanket, or a magazine to read. How about a cup of coffee? Maybe a cocktail?

I remember when flying was a pleasurable experience. Yes, I know those days are long gone, as are some of my favorite airlines, such as PanAm, TWA, PSA and Western. The stewardess is now an overworked flight attendant, friends and family can’t walk with you past the airport ticket counter, and once airborne, food service is lousy or nonexistent. A package of peanuts? That will be fifty cents, please.

Yes, I know about terrorists, the vicious, cold-blooded attack our nation received on 9/11, the shoe and underwear bombers and the continued threats our nation and our commercial airplanes receive. I fully realize we are at war.

And just when I think things can’t get more uncomfortable for passengers, it does.

Now there’s the choice from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to either be screened by full-body imaging technology or allowing a patdown from a TSA agent that includes an agent’s hands moving along a woman’s breasts and inside thighs to the crotch area, male or female. Don’t touch my junk, buddy.

I’ll repeat myself: I know we are at war and that extremists are trying to kill us.

The public hears that full body screens are necessary to detect hidden weapons and explosive devices. That advanced imaging technology is safe, and that should a passenger choose to have a patdown instead of being exposed to imaging radiation, that such patdowns are impersonal, professional and quick. Do it to be patriotic, we’re told.

But I’ve had enough. Walking through a metal detector is acceptable to me. Taking my shoes off is OK. Having an agent take a metal detector wand and move it all around my body is fine. But I’ve drawn the line on this new stuff.

I’ve decided that if I can’t drive my car, take a train or even ride a bus, I’m not going. Period. I’ve had it. I’ll use Skype to see and talk with associates around the West or use web conferencing software for meetings.

Being able to take a Southwest flight lasting a few hours (I think it is the best airline going these days) to Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Kansas City or Seattle, spending the weekend playing tourist, then flying back on another two- to four-hour flight is not worth the aggravation to me.

What did people do before commercial aviation? They included extra time for their trips. Remember, Hollywood was built by moguls and stars taking the Super Chief or the City of Los Angeles or the Golden State Limited between New York and Los Angeles via Chicago. Meals were excellent, beds were comfortable and you made new friends over cocktails in the lounge.

I’ve decided my parents were right: Getting there is half the fun. I want to see the West by looking out a window, seeing what I’ve been missing, seeing new things, and I don’t mean looking down from 36,000 feet.

My decision works for me. I’m not asking you to stop flying. But really, what’s your hurry?

New! Exploring the West’s Scenic Highways




The view from
the Environmental Camps at
Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
Photo by Stan Russell

 

With our November 2010 issue we’re starting “Scenic Drives” – a new section for OldWestNewWest.com Travel & History Magazine, and you told us it’s a feature you really want to see.

Our first Scenic Drive is an overview of central California’s Big Sur Coastline, Highway 1 between Monterey and San Simeon, home of Hearst Castle You can read our story by clicking here.

The Big Sur Coast is one of our favorite drives in the West, right up there in our top five excursions to take. The scenery is breathtaking. You drive along a two-lane highway squeezed in between the vast Pacific Ocean and the rugged Big Sur rocks and canyons.

When you go, you’ll see windswept cypress trees, fog-shrouded cliffs, rugged canyons, towering redwoods, sea birds, sea lions, and maybe even a whale migrating along the coast.

Plan on at least five hours to drive along Highway 1, because you’ll want to stop and take plenty of photos, breathe clean, salty air, and see vistas like nowhere else.

California’s Big Sur Coast is only the first of many scenic highways we’ll be bringing you in the months ahead. We’ll be offering scenic travel drives in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and all the states west of the Mississippi River.

The West is one of the biggest, most spectacular geographic settings in the world, and it’s right in our own backyard.

Be sure to check back with us frequently, because we’ll be bringing you the best of the West’s highways every month. And drop us a line if you have a scenic drive you want us to feature!