Originally Posted by
FaustsAccountant
About three years ago I was leaving MSP when I was 'randomly' selected, I remember after every item in my messenger bag was spread out on the table, the TSO picked up my travel journal (the kind found at Border & Barnes & Noble, a 4.5" x6" notebook) thumbed through it and started reading it.
For a good 5 minutes.
Not just skimming the pages- READING word for word, page after page.
That still irks me to this day.
For the record, my travel journal does not have sketches of municipal plans, schematics or any red flag words such as WMD, Bomb, Gun, Allah, etc.
I note the date, city and good restaurants, eateries, hotels, shops, and museums I liked and/or would like to check out as well as notes on the weather, architecture, and cool or weird historical factoids and references to my digital camera for any photos I may have taken.
I came back from my first visit to Turkey a couple years ago. Bought several books - I was fascinated by the country, wanted to know more. One book that was recommended was about Ataturk and the role he played in creating the modern Turkey as a secular state, against great odds. Unfortunately, the book is called 'Crescent and Star'. I was halfway through the book when a domestic itinerary came up. I thought long and hard (lot of reports back then about TSOs examing reading material, T-shirt logos, etc). I left the book at home to finish after my trip.
American, land of the free. Except at the checkpoint.