The Friendly Skies

Ah ... I "found " my tool bar for the blog posts again . It was lost for a while . Don't ask , because I have no idea how .These things happen to me all the time . Khadijateri calls me the teckno challenged , she's right , lol !

A few posts back I wrote of new x ray machines in the States that were being installed in airports across the country . They had Superman's ability to see through clothing to your skin . This is ok for say some one that is 25 in great shape and no excess flab hanging around, you know what I mean ??? BUT ....... if you are older , in bad shape , religious , shy , embarrass easily , or have personal disabilities , and /or issues you aren't in any hurry to share with the whole world , theses new x ray machines are bad news for you .They may be great in the War on Terror but not so great for personal privacy .

A good friend of mine just returned from a visit to the States to see her family . I went to visit her . We were talking and catching up on all the news . I was thinking of telling her about these new x ray machines and how upset I felt about them , when she says to me..... guess what humiliating thing happened to me on my trip through Dallas airport .

She says as she was standing in line to clear customs , the clerk looked up , saw her standing there in her headscarf ; since she wears the head covering many Muslim women wear . The clerk started to yell for security to come quickly . My friend says she looked all around to see who the subject of this panic was and how near they were to her in case she needed to duck or something . She didn't see anyone . She turned around to look at the clerk as security came rushing up to her ! The man told her she had been selected for a RANDOM search .She says she noticed THEN that she was the only one in the line that had a head scarf on with long sleeves , i.e. the only Muslim/ Middle Eastern looking person in the area !

He took her to a glass both in front of everyone , told her to step inside . A whoosh of air came and lifted up her clothing for a few minutes as she was examined on a monitor where anyone passing by could see her naked body . She was so humiliated and shamed . She is a American , born and raised in the States who happened to marry a person from Libya . She lives here in Libya with her husband and children as a wife should . She is older and a very modest woman , not your typical Muslim extremest at all . Should she have been singled out Just because she fit the profile ? She wore a head covering , she was coming from Libya , after all you can't be too careful can you? This was a very upsetting incident for her . And she is constantly wondering .. who else saw her nude in that booth ?

Then the poor woman on her way home to Tripoli through Atlanta met a older Lebanese woman travailing on her own and clearly flustered by all the rules and regulations that have been put in place since the last time this woman had traveled to Lebanon on a visit to her family . My friend befriended this older woman .No good deed goes unblessed right ? Wrong ! They boarded the plan . Made their way toward their seats , with my friend carrying hers and the older womans carry on luggage . It was too much for the older woman by this time to carry her own bag and she was shy to ask for assistance . My friends seat comes first before the other womans seat . My friend burdened with all the luggage , asked her new seat mate , another woman , to please take her carry on luggage and put it in her seat for her , until she returns from helping this older woman to settle into her seat and stow away her carry on . She then proceeded on down the isle , found the Lebanese womans seat , put her carry on in the overhead , settled the woman , turned to return to her seat and ran smack dab into the whole crew of the plane !

The seat mate of my friend whom she had asked to place her carry on into her chair , had panicked , not speaking English well nor understanding it as well either , had summoned the cabin personnel , telling them she had been handed a BOMB by that WOMAN there !!!! Help !!!!! So , they were rushing my friend as she was turning back around to return to her seat . She tried to explain what had happened . They weren't in the mood to listen ... at first . They searched her , her bag and questioned her eventually realizing she was what she said she was and doing what she said she was doing . Imagine this , she had to sit next to that woman that had thought she was a terrorist because she wore a head scarf and handed her her a bag , not understanding what my friend had asked her , for over eight hours to the next stop . Talk about a trip from Hell !!!! Anyone planning a trip soon ????? Happy Trails if you are traveling !