Take THAT!

So, thanks to my friend Adam, I signed up for a 3 month trial of this program that lets you zip through the security line at airports. So, I show up to the Boston airport today, find the kiosk and let them know that I have a confirmation number and I'd like to zippity-zip. I got a blank stare and a "Do you have a passport?" Um, well, not for my trip from Boston to Indiana. I told him I had a military ID and a Massachusetts drivers license, and he informed me that they needed a passport because this program is only for US citizens, and "I am aware that you do not have to be a citizen to be in the military." Well, thanks for the military lesson, buddy. So, I inform HIM that you DO have to be a citizen to be an officer, which my ID clearly states I am. All to no avail. No passport, no service.

But, whatever, it was just a trial, and I was at the airport really early anyway, so I hopped in the regular security line the the rest of the commonfolk. When I showed my boarding pass to TSA, I used my military ID (and had on my Army Reserve backpack) and while I was standing in the big line, preparing to remove my jacket and shoes, another TSA employee came over, asked to see my ID, and then ushered me to another line....the SAME zippity-zip line that I was denied earlier. Turns out, the TSA loves Soldiers and wanted to do something nice for me.

It was all I could do not to turn around and laugh at the guy who wanted my passport, since I managed to find my way to the speedy line anyway :-)