No More Fear of Flying - The End of Body Scanners

Remember "don't touch my junk?"

The Sunday paper this week caught my attention with a tiny blurb about those controversial body scanning machines that are being used in many airports: No more privacy concerns--they are going to be removed by June.

I was so gratified (not necessarily grateful) to read that the era of the full body pat-down will soon be over for me. I don't have any metal parts or a pacemaker, and will soon pass quietly through the regular old scanners. The airports will have to remove the body scanners because the machines could not be altered to show a more generic image of the body outlines of the naked-under-clothes body.

I was so annoyed by this new technology (backscatter body scanning) that I have requested pat-downs from the very beginning--and I've come to enjoy them. It's a good touch. Now if had a large package of "junk" I might feel differently!! I know a few people who have extremely sensitive feet and they might also have a problem, because the TSA agents actually pat the bottoms of your stocking feet as you sit in a chair. I can imagine a certain daughter of mine losing control and kicking the gloved pat-down lady in the face.

I would probably have survived the extra bit of radiation just fine. It is thought to be minuscule--far less radiation than from the cosmic rays you experience as you are flying high in the airplane, that is, flying at high altitudes.

But I have had so few protests to participate in (I never got it out of my system as a late 60's college student on a conservative campus), and this one was easy. At the Orlando airport I have been able to avoid the super-exposure scanner by simply picking the right line.

My annoyance is with the whole system, as they arbitrarily pat down granny or a child in a wheelchair. Some of the practices are abusive and some are just ridiculous. I have accommodated the 2 oz. bottles and stocking feet--I take fresh socks (and a ziplock for the dirty ones) along in my purse to put on when I get through security! (Not that I am a germ freak or anything--it is just gross on the airport floor).But I will not use their stupid body scan machines.

 I don't actually mind that much if some technician observes the gray-scale contours of my aging body. This is just a personal protest--a small statement that I can make. But I have no fear that there are any images "out there" of me that have been saved by some pervert who enjoys scanner porn! (My scans would be more suitable for target practice than for porn!).

However, I would like to believe that my participation in this small protest has somehow helped to facilitate the decision to terminate the use of these machines...

My gratification comes from that perceived success: No more body scans. No more vertical strip-searches. No more pat-downs. No more extra radiation.

                                           ************************

More on scanning, radiation and flying:

I heard a comedian on television yesterday who objected to the reclining seat. He claimed:
You are going to sleep in their face (or on their laptop)--if you recline in your airplane seat.

 Is it rude to recline? Is it a right that comes with a paid seat? Do you recline?

"Are you going to sleep in my face?"  Would you ask that of the person in the seat in front of you?

Some scanner radiation facts:
mrem - the unit of measure for radiation levels (haven't tried it yet on WORDS)

backscatter - reflection of waves, particles, or signals back to the direction from which they came. (What a cool word.) It also references a kind of email scamming technique.

A thought:
If the scanning machines cannot be re-purposed for use in, say, jails--they are once again, an example of huge government waste.

Finally:
I am sorry that I cannot include photos in this post--those outlines of bodies and privates are a form of, well, I said it--backscatter porn!

Go East, Old Storm

NYC - 2003

I know--more about the weather!

I was relieved that our last snow storm was a modest one, even as double systems were heading with a vengeance towards the East Coast to dump some snow there.

I don't wish anyone harm; however, all the weather drama seems to be about what happens in New York City, Boston, etc. What happens here in the Midwest tends to be less important to the national media outlets--and that can become rather annoying. But we know how to handle the weather better. We are tougher and we own more trucks.

 As I wished the storm away and east, I didn't know a little boy would be asphyxiated because his father's car's exhaust pipe would be stuck in a snow bank. That was a tragic side-note to the storm, as are the heart attacks of old men trying to shovel their walks--not really the fault of the storm.

But sometimes I take a perverse delight in watching the cities in which the "elites" and eggheads are concentrated--those who think they are so much more sophisticated and have all the answers to the world's problem, even global climate change--experience a little difficulty.

The Times - 2003

I was in New York for the February snowstorm of 2003. We headed out of New York City to Princeton, New Jersey just as the worst of the snowstorm hit. I was staying on the campus of Princeton University, in the facilities of Princeton Seminary. The campus and the entire city of Princeton shut down completely. And of course, all airports were closed, for at least two days.

It was obvious to me that the city of Princeton was not prepared for that much snow. I was unhappy and frustrated. We went shopping once the storm ended and found a bar that was open, but I would rather have just taken a flight home.

I remember a few good things about that time of waiting for the weather and the roads to clear. (The backup of flights at the Newark airport was the larger issue.)

First, the snow on the Princeton University campus was absolutely beautiful, especially after the storm, when the sun came out.

Also, since a board meeting, as I recall, had been cancelled, and since no one was able to fly in or out of the closed airports, the campus cafeteria had steak and other fancy food left over, which they served at regular dinner prices.

And, I had a chance to explore the entire campus of this historic university. I took many photos, although the photos I used in this post were actually taken by a friend.

Me, standing in front of Princeton Theological Seminary Chapel, 2003

I found these photos on a cd from 2003 and had not viewed them since then. I was so happy with my new black leather Tommy gym shoes (still have them), purchased just before this trip. I thought they looked good with my black winter coat, but they were not really adequate for that much snow.

More Snow and Ice ... and some SUNSHINE

Icicles on the Christmas fir 

A fir tree stands on my deck. It is there mostly because I was lazy after Christmas and threw it out the slider door the day we put in the gas stove. It has retained its green color and is still in its sturdy metal tree stand, although it is tipping like the Pisa tower.

The snow has been melting on our sun room roof, creating giant icicles on the roof line and on the tree. The sun was shining on the icicles today and they were dripping as they were forming. They were of a large and lethal size and I was careful to not stand under them or bump them.

It was very good to see the sun today, even though the sun's reflecting rays highlighted some spider webs that were forming along the ceiling. The brightness also exposed dust and carpet spots. I got my snow broom from the garage and wrapped it with an old white towel to attack the webs.

As a child I used to hate it that the sun-on-snow reflections would draw out the freckles on my nose. I secretly tried to bleach them with (ReaLemon) lemon juice from my mother's cupboard, but was never confident it did any good. Now I would love it if a few freckles were the biggest problem of my day.

What if sunlight-on-snow exposed the flaws of more than the insides of our houses, but also the webs of deceit and hidden spots of sin in our souls? We would all find a way to hibernate in our houses, for sure! And "let the sunshine in" would not have become a line in the lyrics of a popular song.

Sunshine and snow are common metaphors for exposure and cleansing: Sunshine Laws, sun-bleached clothes, and in our Christian hymnody, "wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."

Today I was grateful (in spite of the glaring exposures) to see sunshine on the snow. My spirit was brightened, if not cleansed. And I didn't see any new freckles.

Here Comes the Sun

Today was another snow day--with enough snow to be a blow day.

(Today was also Groundhog Day and spring will come early! Do you get the whole not-seeing-your-shadow thing?)

The husband went up and down the block with his new (last year) snow blower--once you're all bundled up for winter, it's kind of fun to blow snow and do a good thing for the neighbors.

Clean fluffy snow--perfect for anyone who enjoys winter sports. I only emerged from the house (not seeing my shadow) to grab a few groceries and snap a few pics of the fresh snow.

I took photos, but all the whiteness had a certain sameness. I will share just two that I liked.

Every chair had been slip-covered in white and looked kind of soft and cushy. A child would certainly have put his imprint on the seats, but ours remained pristine.

On our deck--taken through the window

But then the sun came out for one brief shining moment--a patch of blue sky with some highlights on the oak leaves that cling-on through the winter--one small tease of color in the otherwise bland, white world.

At a garden nearby