susiej
06-11-2011, 10:54 AM
Hi, Girls,
I'm on my way to Puerto Rico for a working vacation. I was planning to check my suitcase, since it contained a number of things that wouldn't pass security. When I arrived at the airport, I discovered it was a total zoo -- long lines at security, longer lines at bag check. I'd already checked in on-line, so I decided if I was going to get on the flight (still 90 minutes to go) I was going to have to scrap the prohibited items, and carry on my bag.
So, I squatted next to a trash can and tossed out all the "bad" stuff, including a spray can of Hollister medical adhesive, and a bottle of the remover for same (which I am going to miss next week!). But, I didn't throw out my breast forms!
This was a big moment for me, one I'd anticipated/dreaded all my life. Would the TSA x-ray screener see the breast forms ("D" size, of course) and think it was plastic explosive? Would I be held up to ridicule? Would the screeners snicker? Would I be delayed and miss the flight? Would someone else in the crowd who I know see the forms?
Well, the breast forms *did* capture the screener's attention. She reversed the conveyor belt and looked at my bag twice, then looked at me quizzically. She asked, "what is that, a rock?".
I told her no, it's a pair of silicone breast forms. She didn't bat the smallest eyelash -- her reaction was sort of, "oh, right, I get it, interesting". But, she was baffled what to do. She called over a supervisor, who looked at the image, and conferred with the screener (I could lip read "breast forms" between them, but absolutely straight faced).
The supervisor decided to inspect my bag. He took it to a relatively sheltered desk and cracked it open, pulled the forms out of a side pocket. "Are you a doctor," he asked. "No," I answered, "I'm a transgender." Straight face again. He pulled out a paper swab and rubbed the backs of the forms, put it in the bomb sniffer, which bleeped happily.
The forms had been clumped together in a ball, but he laid them out flat in my bag, zipped it up, and took it back to the x-ray. He and the screener peered at the monitor again -- probably looking for detonation wires :).
The supervisor brought me the bag, smiled, and wished me a good day. I thanked him for treating me with respect.
So there you have it. Lessons learned:
1) Breast forms in your carry-on bag are going to get the screeners' attention, and they may not know what to do with them. Your bag will probably get hand searched.
2) My small sample of one TSA screener and one supervisor yielded a 100% professional attitude. A-plus.
Hugs,
Susie
I'm on my way to Puerto Rico for a working vacation. I was planning to check my suitcase, since it contained a number of things that wouldn't pass security. When I arrived at the airport, I discovered it was a total zoo -- long lines at security, longer lines at bag check. I'd already checked in on-line, so I decided if I was going to get on the flight (still 90 minutes to go) I was going to have to scrap the prohibited items, and carry on my bag.
So, I squatted next to a trash can and tossed out all the "bad" stuff, including a spray can of Hollister medical adhesive, and a bottle of the remover for same (which I am going to miss next week!). But, I didn't throw out my breast forms!
This was a big moment for me, one I'd anticipated/dreaded all my life. Would the TSA x-ray screener see the breast forms ("D" size, of course) and think it was plastic explosive? Would I be held up to ridicule? Would the screeners snicker? Would I be delayed and miss the flight? Would someone else in the crowd who I know see the forms?
Well, the breast forms *did* capture the screener's attention. She reversed the conveyor belt and looked at my bag twice, then looked at me quizzically. She asked, "what is that, a rock?".
I told her no, it's a pair of silicone breast forms. She didn't bat the smallest eyelash -- her reaction was sort of, "oh, right, I get it, interesting". But, she was baffled what to do. She called over a supervisor, who looked at the image, and conferred with the screener (I could lip read "breast forms" between them, but absolutely straight faced).
The supervisor decided to inspect my bag. He took it to a relatively sheltered desk and cracked it open, pulled the forms out of a side pocket. "Are you a doctor," he asked. "No," I answered, "I'm a transgender." Straight face again. He pulled out a paper swab and rubbed the backs of the forms, put it in the bomb sniffer, which bleeped happily.
The forms had been clumped together in a ball, but he laid them out flat in my bag, zipped it up, and took it back to the x-ray. He and the screener peered at the monitor again -- probably looking for detonation wires :).
The supervisor brought me the bag, smiled, and wished me a good day. I thanked him for treating me with respect.
So there you have it. Lessons learned:
1) Breast forms in your carry-on bag are going to get the screeners' attention, and they may not know what to do with them. Your bag will probably get hand searched.
2) My small sample of one TSA screener and one supervisor yielded a 100% professional attitude. A-plus.
Hugs,
Susie