I boarded a lunchtime flight yesterday with lunch in hand. I was in AUS, and took the opportunity to sample a little Texas "BBQ". After I sat down, I opened the box to discover that my sandwich would be impossible to eat with my hands since it was so heavy on the bbq sauce - the bun was like a little island set in a sea of sauce.

When the FA stopped by to get a drink order, I asked if she had a plastic fork anywhere on the aircraft. I figured it was unlikely that an MD88 was supplied with much beyond plastic cups and I was right. However, she returned from the back with her personal fork - a metal one!!! It wasn't DL standard issue. Now how the heck do you get that through security?

Last month, I watched a pilot go through security (I think it was SFO) with a case of beer.

Now I really appreciated the fork. She even washed it for me. But the double standard bothers me. How is it so easy for TSA to look the other way just because someone is wearing an airline uniform?