Thread: Tongue in Cheek TSA Article

I have to admit to being the "My flight leaves in 10 minutes" guy........and although not exactly tired from my night out guy, I have to admit to being the "tired from my sixty-some hour duty day and then commercial right to the next place" guy

And I've never been the "thinks he's a cop TSO".......but I have been "the rules are the rules, sorry dude" Ground Security Coordinator

Got a kick out of this one : "Taking 15 minutes to undo Velcro shoes feels like an elaborate prank all old people are in on." My father has since passed, but Grandpa John is still upright but hasn't flown since.

I wrote this story in 2009.
Took my dad (87/alzheimer's) and sister's FIL (90, tiny, alert and very grumpy!!) to the airport (gate pass for me, rev tkts for them)

TSA!!! Last minute detail--John has pacemaker. My dad kept saying he'd never done this before--shoes, xray etc--of course, he forgot.
John has something in every pocket, 4 shirts a jacket and cap. TSA guy: do you have anything else in your pockets? Yep. Yep. Ditto, ditto, wink wink (I think he recognized me) Final tally in 2 bins plus carry-on duffle: 3 metal writing instruments, one checkbook, one address book, one wallet and one billfold, one wool shirt, two shoes and a cap. And a handful of loose change! I think he left 20 pounds on the conveyor belt. Over to hand screening...
Meantime, Dad is still muttering about all the "new" system, why do I take off my shoes, getting cantankerous, but I already had him put his cap and jacket in his carry-on (John wasn't listening, of course)
John's telling the TSA guy to watch his billfold and Dad's getting belligerent and...we made it through without being arrested for something...
Then had John sit down and get dressed--had to put the wallet in the inside pocket of shirt 3 and make sure it was buttoned--looked like a hamster getting out of his chest!! Then each pen went in each pocket, then the checkbook, address book and billfold and change. I think it took 20+ minutes and there was no one in front of them when we started!!
I apologized to everyone behind us and wished them a Merry Christmas! Everyone was smiling--talk about Holiday Spirit!

We both have Precheck clearance. The lane at ATL is nearly empty when we arrive--usually there are people who think they can use it but get sent back out. The ATL employee lanes have been nuts some days. We use the trusted traveler global entry number on our listing [once] and it's printed as Precheck in the upper left corner of seat request. I can guess we've saved 20-30 hours each by having both, coming and going. Sending you a PM.

I like most of the trusted traveler program, I am just extremely hesitant to give another dime to our government. They can follow me around and notice I meet all requirements. They can look and see that I've been watchlist vetted multiple times/day since I was a teenager, but I don't agree that relaxed security comes only after a monetary transaction. I just really don't like where that goes. I don't see this happening, but I find it comparable to Delta or American offering relaxed security for ancillary revenue........Just not Kosher for me..

Originally Posted by ColoAvs19

I like most of the trusted traveler program, I am just extremely hesitant to give another dime to our government. They can follow me around and notice I meet all requirements. They can look and see that I've been watchlist vetted multiple times/day since I was a teenager, but I don't agree that relaxed security comes only after a monetary transaction. I just really don't like where that goes. I don't see this happening, but I find it comparable to Delta or American offering relaxed security for ancillary revenue........Just not Kosher for me..

No charge for Precheck/Trusted Traveler--just GE.

You got my hopes up! Doesn't seem to be the case from what I can tell... TSA Pre

Applicants may pay the anticipated $85 enrollment fee online, or at an enrollment center.

How to Participate | Transportation Security Administration

There seem to be separate programs still being offered. One is trusted traveler thru CBP and airlines via GOES registration. Global entry requires extra fee (from what I can tell, but then again it IS the fed'ral gov'min, ya' know...)