Wow --

I would have stayed there until they carted away the screener in handcuffs. Just as an FYI, I'm another guy who unloads everything from my pockets. I put everything into my briefcase and spin one of the locks before it goes through the X-ray. That way, when I'm 100% randomly selected, the goons have to wait until the wanding harassment is over before they can look inside my briefcase.

I really torqued off gate screeners at Denver recently when I made them wait until after the "personal" search before they searched my briefcase and laptop. I made them turn the briefcase 90 degrees on the table so I could watch what they were doing inside. When it was all over, right in front of them, I pulled my wallet out of my briefcase and counted my cash and credit cards right in front of them. One of them said to the other loud enough for me to hear, "Gee, you'd think he thought we were trying to steal something." I figured I won this little mind game.

Unfortunately, your situation was far more serious. Nonetheless, all of us have to make the point that we're not going to take any fertilizer from these people.

Hang in there.

"If they outlaw nail clippers, then only outlaws will have nail clippers."