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I am amazed.

Wife (of 39 years) Gail is the last person I would have suspected.

I hear my airline-pilot friends complain about passenger behavior (passengers won’t listen, they won’t behave, they don’t know what they’re doing). Usually, I have chalked it up to poor customer service. After all, why should we expect infrequent flyers to know the ropes?

I may be forced to change my thinking.

This morning (at 6:00, BTW) I took Wife Gail to the airport for her first airline flight since the foiled terrorist plot in London. Last night I suggested she check one bag with everything in it that she could possibly live without for a few hours.

Now bear in mind that this is an intelligent woman. She keeps up. She reads. Also, she has heard me talk about the airlines for lo, these many years, and she edits everything I write about the industry.

This morning, as we drove to the airport, Gail put lotion on her hands, then put the bottle in her large, carry-on, pocketbook. I, of course, expressed absolute amazement.

I will shorten this story. Wife Gail had to throw away several items. No doubt she held up progress at the security check point.

And I? I have a totally new respect for the difficulty of convincing the flying public of the truth.  

Why did she do it? Near as I can tell, she just wasn’t convinced by all of the media reports. Then, when I explained it to her, she obviously figured, “Well, there goes Ralph again trying to run everybody’s business.”

Now you know, of course, I took great pleasure in telling her “I told you so.” Wrong. I didn’t say a word. I may be old, fat and bald headed, but I ain’t stupid.

Besides. I want to stay married to her for many more years.

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