Travel Trouble

Retired Marine Corps Gen. Joseph J. Foss, 86, arrived at the airport in Phoenix, Ariz., to fly to the east coast, but was stopped by airport security because he was carrying something the security screeners apparently deemed suspicious: a Congressional Medal of Honor. "I kept explaining that it was the highest medal you can receive from the military in this country, but nobody listened", Foss, the former governor of South Dakota, says. "They just didn't know what it was but they acted like I shouldn't be carrying it." He got it in 1943 from President Franklin Roosevelt after shooting down 26 enemy planes in the Pacific. "It states all that stuff on the back of the medal." So why was he carrying the medal? "I had it with me this time to show to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point." -- where he was going to make a speech. (Washington Times) ...Good move, boys -- that medal was for shooting down planes!

Doesn't This Make You Feel Safe?

US Airways pilot Elwood Menear, 46, trying to get through security so he could fly his airliner out of Philadelphia (Penn.) International Airport, was apparently frustrated at the delay as his luggage was searched. "Why are you worried about tweezers when I could crash the plane?" Menear allegedly asked the security screener. Menear was immediately arrested, and charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. "The pilot made some comments that the screeners thought were inappropriate," confirmed an FAA spokeswoman. (Philadelphia Inquirer, wire services) ...If insightful truth is a crime, we're all in big trouble.

Something Special in the Air II

U.S. Representative John Dingell, 75, flies a lot, but came under special scrutiny when he tried to fly home from Washington, D.C., to Michigan, since he was wearing a knee brace, has surgically implanted pins in his ankles, and a metal hip. Security screeners forced the congressman to remove his shoes, socks, knee brace, and pants, and ran a metal detector over his boxer shorts. "I complied, but tried to do it with some small bit of dignity," he said. He never told the screener he was a congressman because "I don't want any special treatment." (Washington Post) ...Good. Politicians need to know what people are going through every day.

Can You Identify Yourself?

Colorado governor Roy Romer realized on a business trip to California that he had left his wallet in his limousine. With no cash and no identification, he decided to walk slowly down the aisle of the airplane in hopes someone would recognize him. When at last someone did, he asked if he could borrow some money. The passenger loaned him $45. Later, the ticket agent in Los Angeles wouldn't let Romer board the flight back home since he had no ID. Romer solved that problem, too: he pulled a copy of the Denver Post from his briefcase and pointed to three pictures on the front page. "Hey, see that? That's me. There, there, there. My name's Romer. There! That's my ID," he told the agent. He was allowed to board the plane. (UPI) ...Sure: anything to get rid of him.