Tuesday, December 27, 2005

The flight of the nail

I have a nail. I waited until I visited home for the holidays to get this nail. I needed a nail in my studio to hang a calendar my brother bought me. I thought it silly to buy a box of nails for just one nail, when I can just as easily go home, take one, and bring it back with me. As I was wrapping my nail up in a piece of paper (so it doesn't poke into my other things) and placing it inside my bookbag, I realized that if it were to go through the scanner at the airport, the security personnel might freak out over the nail. It is metal. It is sharp. It may be one inch long, but who knows what a person wielding a nail will do on a flight? And I will be on a nonstop flight that spans several hundred miles. Even more suspicious.

So then I opened my luggage bag and found a little compartment and placed the nail in there. Then I remembered that they scan the luggage as well. Would it be more suspicious if they searched my bag, found regular clothes and such, and a random nail? And why was it so suspiciously hidden in a compartment of a suitcase? Why couldn't she just bring it on the flight?

I then thought about writing on the paper wrapping the nail, "Nail for calendar." But then the security personnel will be like, "Why is she going through all the effort of writing 'Nail for calendar'? What calendar? It must be a subterfuge..."

Then I thought, maybe I can tape the nail to the calendar, and put a post-it on the calendar saying, "Nail with calendar. Need to hang calendar." But then I figured that was going a bit overboard and might arouse even more suspicion.

So my current plan is this: I will leave the nail wrapped in paper in the little pocket in my baggage. I won't write "For calendar" on it.

2 comments:

Chiaw Yong said...

Very thoughtful... *grin

The Naysayer said...

That you took all that time to think of the possible alternatives! Especially with the recently-expired license, you could get into big big trouble, so it's good to be safe. I hope that in the history of the world, no one tried to hijack a plane with a nail, so they won't be suspicious of anything. Nail gun, maybe, but man oh man! I got upset when they started taking away Swiss Army knives--like that could be wielded as a weapon.

I'm betting you're safe. Along the same line, I will be traveling with a suitcase that was 49.0 lbs. on the way in. I've accumulated some socks, papers, etc. And you KNOW that that extra pound is going to cause the plane to tip over! Biggest fear? I'll hold up the holiday line by trying to stuff clothes into my carry-on luggage! They charge like $50 for that extra pound. Now if I gained a pound over the holidays, that's fine. But if that suitcase does?! UNACCEPTABLE.

Regardless...best of luck with the traveling thang! Don't get....nailed.

 
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