Re: [Harp-L] Airport security and harps

[Nicolas Fouquet <bbhcfr@xxxxxxxx>]

Yeah, and what is amazing is that you can not joke because they have absolutely no sense of humour at all (do they have any sense?)!! I mean, they're doing their job, sure, but if you just joke saying: "I am a pro killer and my speciality is to play harmonica to my victims"; or say "I use harmonicas to put plane into towers!", they will almost send you to jail!!!
 
Nut it is also depnding how you do look like. I have friends who have heavy tan and they are always stopped wherever they go by police and the officers and gorillas.
I am travelling a lot and I am tall, blond, and my skin is whiter than an aspirin pill. So, I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times I have had such probs.
Moreover, I am pretty keen about the Blues Brothers, and one day, I was coming to the airport direct from a gig and I was still wearing my white suit, black trouser, black hat... ... and my eyes troubles force me to wear kindda sunglasses (I am photophobic). I was still carrying my 25 harmonicas and also the tool kit (I did not know I had it until I opened my back at the hotel 5 hours later) including files, blades...
Inside the cue, was, just in front of me, a family of jewish people (very nice people by the way, we had good time together), dressing almost like me, but not for Blues Brothers Fanatism...
Well, nobody told me to empty my bag at the control. Moreover, while my case was going to the X-rays, the officers were not even looking at the screen. That time, I could have had a bomb and nobody checked it. They thought I was jew and member of the family before me in the cue.
And I have had few other tales like that, where I was "perfectly dressed" so nobody asked me for any ID or suitcase control. But when I am coming with my vintage heavy coat and my t-shirt and my blue jean, I am sure to be controlled.
 
Froggy
 

Mike Holcomb <mholcomb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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 


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Nicolas Fouquet
Frog's Workshop 
'Makes ya feel great! 

Weltmeister Harmonicas
15 bis Rue tour du Château 
34480 Puimisson France 

tél.: (0) 4 67 36 06 14 
fax: (0) 4 67 36 06 16






		
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