Talk about snake-bit.

Thought I was done with business travel. Well, not yet. IAD-MDW on SouthWurst. No biggie. It'll give me a chance to try the IAD Diamond Lane. Got my quart bag, got a little fanny pack for watch & wallet. Cloth belt.

Ready to zip through the Diamond and loaf in the Priority Pass lounge 'till my flight. Not quite. I'm standing there in my socks waiting for my stuff. The TSA calls for a supervisor.

Hmm. Since I took a non-road gig, my roll-aboard had been my overnight bag for weekends at the family cabin. Driving trip, no fly. Did I leave my Boy Scout knife in the bag?

Finally the super comes over. "Did you pack something you shouldn't have?" Still thinking knife, I said, "Whatever it is, it can't be expensive. Just pitch it."

He said, "It's a loaded clip from an automatic." Now I understand the phrase, "Knock me over with a feather."

To make matters worse, it really is a clip from an antique Beretta I own. I got no excuses. Just the dumbest boner I've pulled in a decade.

There is a shooting range at our cabin. To be sure I'd not be tagged for concealed weapon, I'd put the ammo and pistol in separate bags. Several years ago. Haven't flown with that bag since.

The TSA's and the cop they called were completely professional. (Perhaps out of pity for the stricken look on my face.) Took my particulars and sent me on my way, sans the clip, in about 15 minutes. At least they waited 'till I was gone before laughing at me.

Still plenty of time for my flight. Oh oh! Why does the sign at the SouthWurst gate say Denver instead of Chicago? And why is there a line around the curvature of the earth?

Flight(s) cancelled. Earliest I can get to Chicago is oh-dark-thirty tomorrow. Oh fudge! Talk about snake-bit!