[Harp-L] Airport security and harps

[Mike Holcomb <mholcomb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My own brush with the forces making the USA ultra-secure from the threat 
of harmonica wielding terrorists: 

This past spring I had to fly to San Francisco on business. I took my 
harp bag for my carry-on, which is a smallish canvas toolbag. (A Duluth 
Tool Company Gatemouth Jr. which works very well as a gig bag - in case 
you were wondering.) In it, I had my harps, some CDs, a CD player, and a 
book. I keep my harps in a clear Plano fishing tackle organizer in the 
bottom of the bag. 

When the bag went through X-ray, the security monkey immediately stopped 
the machine and summoned the TSA gorillas. They all stared and pointed at 

the X-ray monitor for a while and I thought, "Here we go..." 

TSA: "Sir, could you please step over here and open your bag?" 
Me: "Sure" Open bag. 
TSA: "Sir, could you please remove the contents of the bag?" 
Me: "Sure" 

Remove book. TSA flips through it to make sure it is really a book. 
Remove CD player and CD's. TSA makes sure they are really what they are. 
Remove tackle organizer. 

TSA: "Sir, could you please open that container?" 
Me: "Sure" Open tackle organizer. 

TSA looks at my neat rows of harmonicas for a while. 

TSA: "What are they?" 
Me: "Harmonicas." 
TSA: (I'm not making this up) "What do they do?" 
Me: "They are musical instruments. You play them. They make music." 
TSA: "Why do you need so many?" 
Me: "They come in different keys. Each song is in some musical key. You 
need the right key harmonica to play along." (Thinking to myself - God, 
please let's not take this line of questioning any further. I would hate 
to have to explain the circle of fifths to this goon.) 

TSA stood there a while looking very doubtful. I think he thought that my 

explanation of why I needed a bunch of them was BS. 

Then.. 

TSA: "What's inside them?" 
Me: "They have a metal reedplate on each side. There are two reeds for 
each of those little holes. That's probably what you saw on the X-ray." 

TSA is still looking doubtful. 

Me: "Would you like me to play one for you?" 
TSA: "Have a safe flight sir." 

And here I was really hoping to lay down some "Forty-Four Blues" on the 
man. 

Best regards, 
Mike Holcomb