See-Through Scanner

It was a first for me. Setting off an American scanner alert because something foreign was in my breast. And where was the handy card the surgeon's office gave me to show I had a surgical implant in there? At home on my dresser of course.

The line-up behind us was the usual, everyone pressing from behind as you hopped around on one foot trying to take off your other shoe while ripping off your belt, pulling your laptop out of your back pack, the bag of gels and creams from your carry-on , hand the security guy your boarding pass, not making jokes or smiling because that might mean I was "nervous." Okay, I was always nervous at border crossings or security checks. You can thank our mother for that one. In the days before computers,after being stopped at the Maine/New Brunswick border EVERY September  before school started go for a weekend power shop. We always blew the allowable duty free budget with another appliance Mom would have to have.Never-mind we were wearing three pairs of new pants and shirts. We'd get busted for a toaster oven or a vacuum. The humiliation of being caught again was worst when Mom had to confess to our Dad that all the advantage of going to the States for back-to-school savings was wasted on a fine. Again.

To this day, I shake and tremble at every border crossing or when I pass through security of any kind. My palms sweat, fear trickles down beneath my armpits, rolls down my back. My eyes whirl around in my head, I accidentally look for exit signs and count how many guards are standing where. Why is that? Am I thinking I could make a run for it somewhere? I act as guilty as I still feel and once through, I run away from the area as fast as I can, still clutching my belt and shoes to put on around the corner. I fell for the "you've been chosen for an extra security check" only once. Grabbed because I had paused to put my shoes on. Never again.

But this was different. I walked into the new full scanner X-Ray machine with my hands touching my head. As I came out I was held up and words were exchanged between the male guard and a female guard who was standing further down. The woman looked up at the screen, saw where the bright red mark on the picture of a female frame's right breast was, looked into my eyes and saw my grin. What? I love my re-conned boob!

And she waved me through.
What a relief. It would have been one  more border story for Barry to tell and one more reason to fear the security people at the airport!

Homeward bound. Hopefully we arrive tonight at 7:30 pm. What a long day as we started yesterday night, after being up since 7 am. But it's always worth it. Every little bit of inconvenience and physical and mental exhaustion.I love nothing better besides getting on a plane and arriving some place else! Especially someplace warm when it's freezing at home.