Category: Politics

Harmonicas still a major terroristic threat


Peoms books and blues by Hippie Dude (from Flickr)In breaking news, your reporter has officially determined that my earlier strange interaction involving airport security and harmonicas was not a fluke. Flying back from GECCO today my backpack got flagged for hand inspection at Washington National Airport. I got wand searched, including getting to unbuckle my belt in public so a strapping fellow could pat down my waistline. (I love how the Bush administrating continues to provide me with new and exciting opportunities!) Both my bags were rummaged through at some length by a nice lady, and once again she focussed on my harmonicas, pulling out all three of them and running them separately through the x-ray machine.

Wow. Who’d’ve thunk? Especially since I’ve never had problems with harmonicas before last month, and I’ve been traveling with them like this for years beyond counting.

I actually worked up the nerve to ask (in my best, lighthearted, I’m-a-good-citizen-not-an-evil-terrorist sort of voice) if the harmonicas really were the problem. And she nicely let me in on what I must assume is a Major Air Traffic Safety Board Secret: They were the problem. Presumably they look confusing or bad or generally disreputable in the x-ray, especially when jumbled in with other stuff. Her (very helpful) advice was to make sure to take them out of my bag in future and run them through the x-ray separately.

Harmonimacro by Poagao (from Flickr)So, with my standard travel kit, this means I’ll run five distinct items/tubs through the x-ray machine:

  • My laptop (which has to be separate)
  • My harmonicas (which now need to be separate)
  • The bucket with my shoes, pens, loose change, laptop sleeve, and other random crap that might set off their sensors
  • My backpack (minus laptop and harmonicas)
  • My carry-on bag

I’ll hold the line up as much as a middle-class family four all on my own. I can hardly wait :-).

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YATTNS: Yet Another Threat To National Security

Harmonica reedsIn the excitement of arriving in Ann Arbor I forgot to mention a somewhat bizarre story from the trip out.

Ellery and I were going through security at Minneapolis, and there was a “sinking feeling in stomach” moment when the security folks decided to run my backpack through the x-ray a second time, asking “Is this your bag?”. I was pretty confused, as I’d actually emptied a ton of accreted crap out of it before we left, so it was quite a bit emptier, cleaner, and lighter than normal, but you don’t argue with these folks so I just smiled and tried to look as un-terroristic as possible.

There was then intent gazing at the screen (which I can’t see), and muttered conversations (which I can’t hear).

And now the dreaded question: “How many harmonicas do you have in your bag?”

Yeah. Harmonicas.

“Uh, 3 or maybe 4?”

“Is one of them kind of big?”

“Yeah, a double harmonica from France.”

“OK.”

At which point I’m free to take my bag, with it’s apparently surprisingly large number of harmonicas, and be on my way. (It’s also worth noting the leading nature of all their questions. If I really had something to hide, their questions would have made my job much easier.)

Hohner echo harmonicaSo it would seem that knitting needles are no longer the key threat when flying, but instead the risk we all face is from harmonica reed plates. Keep that in mind when you’re next traveling (or at a folk or blues festival, which are almost certainly highly suspect gatherings to begin with).

And since someone’s gonna ask, yes I do carry a few harmonicas in my backpack as part of my “standard kit” (notebook, some pens, etc.) I like playing the harmonica (although I wouldn’t claim to be good at it), and harmonicas are small, light, and easy to carry. So I carry a few “standard” 10 hole harmonicas in different keys along with my echo harp (which is by far my favorite).

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