It was a wee bit embarrassing as an airport security officer right next to me grabbed a cigarette lighter and proclaimed, in a voice intended to resound considerably, “And this is where this cigarette lighter is going,” as he dramatically tossed it into a black hole of a deep metal container. Several dozen people clearly got the message. I was embarrassed because the actions of the security officer at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas drew considerable deliberate attention, and to the casual observer, I had gotten “busted.” He seemed to draw the lighter out of nowhere, and my being the closest to him made me a likely enough target.
Trouble is, I didn’t own that lighter, having given up smoking more than 20 years (and 40 pounds) ago.
The lighter didn’t go into a trash disposal unit but into some kind of collecting bin. The one thing we can all be certain of is that the owner of the lighter kissed his Bic good-bye.
The x-raying of carry-on items at airports clearly has stepped up in recent years, since 9-11. Before that time, it was possible to see friends off at the gate or to greet them as they arrived. Now, at most airports, only actual passengers are allowed past security.
I recovered from the moment of embarrassment wrought by the actions of the security guard and wondered about big government’s oppression of the many law-abiding citizens who fly.
I also remembered an Optic employee of around 1970s vintage who lost a lighter and ran a display ad in the lost-and-found column for months. I’d seen the lighter, a silver housing laden with Morenci turquoise. The lighter it surrounded was probably worth a dollar; the holder, with its expert workpersonship, might have cost $100–a fortune in those days and in those dollars.
But back to the airport: I got a glimpse of the cheap lighter surrounded by an intricately detailed cover, a fine piece of work that changed colors with the light. That was probably an object of considerable sentimental value, not to mention actual value, to the owner.
That reminded me of the time, only recently, when our son Stan Adam was making his way from Seattle to the original Las Vegas. A writer for Microsoft, Stan likes to work hands-on. So he bought a set of extremely precise screwdrivers, so he could perform some repairs and adjustments on my personal computer.
He’d paid almost $100 for the set, and because he wanted to avoid the risk of losing it, decided to take it as a carry-on, at Sea-Tac Airport in Washington. He realizes now that sending them as checked luggage would have been better.
So the security official made motions to transfer ownership of the unwrapped screwdrivers to Sea-Tac. But before that happened, Stan asked, “May I mail them ahead?” “No.” “How about if I have a friend pick them up?” “Sorry, that’s against company policy.”
Then he asked, “Are there lockers in the airport, where I can store them for several days?” “Absolutely not.” And finally, he asked, “Can’t I just pick them up when I return in five days?” “No.”
Though he’s an experienced air traveler, Stan had never expected an ending like this. Like the owner of the cigarette lighter, he bade farewell to an expensive set of tools.
At the 445 commercial U.S. airports, there have been an estimated 11 million “prohibited items” seized. These include nail clippers, manicuring scissors, even a tiny plastic sword, a memento from a wedding reception.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that 3.5 million knives are among items confiscated, and there may be 44,000 clubs, baseball bats, pool cues, gold clubs and hockey sticks. Virtually anything that can be used as a weapon, ends up in security’s possession.
Airport Security prefers “surrendered” to “confiscated” in describing prohibited items. Perhaps anticipating myriad complaints from well-meaning airline passengers who “surrendered” valuable items they never construed as weapons, an Alan Kaufman has devised a bubble-lined envelope which passengers may buy in order to mail their items.
Meanwhile, where has all that “surrendered” material gone? It’s made its way to smelters and landfills. In Seattle, thousands of pounds of metal objects were simply melted down. Other items get donated to schools, charities, law-enforcement agencies and scout troops.
A surprising number of these objects get sold on eBay.
It would take quite an observant and persistent person to attempt to buy back a confiscated item from the Internet, but it may have happened. The pity is that all of these items apparently become “safe” once they leave the airport environs.
It’s often difficult for the traveler to know which items constitute a threat. The nail clipper one totes on one trip sometimes becomes a weapon of mass destruction on another airline. We miss the days in which we didn’t worry about dangerous cargo, and yet, events such as 9-11 have necessitated such measures.
As for the gentleman (or lady) at the Las Vegas airport who suddenly became separated from a prized cigarette lighter, I suggest that person check eBay. It might be coming up for auction soon.