As I sit here finishing up the last of the Christmas Eve sauerkraut and preparing to board a plane (perhaps that’s not the best thing to be ingesting) I am contemplating the inanity of the recent incident that almost resulted in a plane blowing up in Detroit. I am dumbfounded that this guy’s name appeared on a watch list of–ok– 400,000 people–which would have seemed daunting years ago but, technologically challenged as I am, I believe there are computer programs that could have cross-checked him immediately. (For all I know there are apps on my daughter’s I-phone that could have accomplished the task). Oh, and this guy’s father had called and alerted the authorities ahead of time; he told them the kid was acting strange. So what more did they need in order to take a closer look? Did they need him to be wearing a sign? Maybe not. That would have required reading. To quote PDQ Bach, “Hats off, gentlemen,” to the brave and savvy passenger who immediately sized up the situation and acted correctly without thinking. “Hats back on, gentlemen,” to the idiots who let a potential killer through, unchecked.

Which leads me back to the security arrangements I’m sure to encounter at the airport today. We are packing food for the flight (1. we have many leftovers that couldn’t be left; 2. there is nothing edible offered on an airplane.) We will be packing chicken sandwiches and potatoes. So are the potatoes a liquid or a gel? Will they be confiscated? Probably. I remember once they confiscated my eyelash curler. Who knows–maybe I would have curled someone to death. They can’t be too careful. But that powder and syringe that Abdul was carrying? No problem. I feel safer already.

I love to end the year on a good rant.
More to come!
–stay tuned!