Having flown as much as I have and knowing that taking off tennis shoes is no longer required unless asked, I politely ask “Do I have to” which must be code for “surround him with 4 large men BEFORE he has even walked through the metal detector†while I hear the old bitch yelling “I TOLD HIM!†which got a laugh from me and they tell me “Please come with us, you fit the profile” ….. uh huh….right….
So they took me to the side and searched me and made me sit there for 3-4 minutes and I ask “what profile do I fit, those who know what the rules are or those who upset old ladies?†which got the shitty guy to take two steps closer to me…
All the while I am sitting I have 3 guys standing over me, so I asked is this what they do to everyone who ask if they have to take their shoes off which made one guard snicker and walked away, another got shitty and said its mandatory to take shoes off, which I told him no its not and that he should read the recent update of requirements from the US Gov and the 3rd guy was trying to defuse any issues there might have been by telling me this will be just a minute please be patient etc…
Now the good part… I never once went though the metal detector, they never once used a hand wand, and all they did was a 1/2 assed “pat down” and swabbed my shoes for explosives.
I wasn’t “mad” more then I was/am annoyed, just the shitty attitude from the lady and then the guy is the worse of it, this airport is pretty small and no other person was in line, so I think this was all a “we have nothing better to do†then anything else.
So I sit… in fucking Ohio… in a small airport… in a bar… with fucking “Regis†on tv… its going to be a long fucking Monday….