Re: [Harp-L] Airport security and harps

"Chris Michalek" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Fri, 1 Oct 2004 18:35:34 -0500

I've been stopped a few tims because I travel with my box of harps
and my sennheiser 441U.  I suppose it does look like a sleek laser
gun and laser charges for the year 3146  sheeesh......

>
>
>
>---- Original Message ----
>From: bbhcfr@xxxxxxxx
>To: mholcomb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Airport security and harps
>Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2004 01:21:57 +0200 (CEST)
>
>>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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Chris Michalek
Get ready for the Global Harmonica Summit 2005