What Will They Think Of Next?
 

IAH & HOU were famous for "The Name Game", but not any more.

Now it's "Where Are You Going?"

"Gate B84, wish me luck"

I didn't get asked either question when I went through IAH.
Though the TDC was trying to sell precheck.

"The airplane".

I only ever get that in STL & LAX. So far these have all worked well:

"That way"
"Through security"
"Mordor"
"I have no f*#king idea"

These didn't work so well:

"Do you mean in the existential sense or the objectivist?"
"Nowhere if you keep asking pointless questions"
"Hopefully wherever the ticket says?"
"To Oz! I'm off to meet a Fairy Princess!" (Judging by the reactions on two occasions I've done that one, TSA is decidedly homophobic)

What about, "Oh gosh! This isn't the right way to the gates? Then turn around and tell everyone in line. 'She just said this is the wrong way to get to the plane.'"

This sort of penalizes the TDC... not his or her idea. I'd really like to see "stupid questions" removed from The Playbook.

I've totally said, "Chicago" even though by boarding card said "INTL" in huge letters. They don't know what those letters mean (or don't care) and was going to Chicago... I just happened to not be staying longer than an hour or two.

I've only had this happen a couple of times, but I make a point of peering over the BP that is in the highly trained document checker's hand & saying the name of the destination printed on said BP.

If the highly trained document checker asks if that is it, then my response is

'Out of an abundance of caution, I don't discuss my travel plans with strangers-it's just not safe'.

So is the name game gone at IAH & HOU?

I'm sure some highly trained TSA Clerk will use it again knowing how doing so makes you "feel" safe.

Not really up to me. You'd be better off asking the pilot.

I've never been SPOTed or smelled any BDO, but my response to any and all questions from a TSO will be simple, direct, non-snarky, and to the point:

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it."

Which is absolutely true, as far as it goes; I work for a company that has federal contracts, and in my yearly security training I've been advised to never discuss any PII, travel plans, or other personal details with strangers - not even co-workers or people in uniform - to prevent phishing, spear-phishing, whaling, or Mentalism.

My inbuilt politeness and manners will probably make me reflexively say, "I'm sorry" first, even though I'm not really sorry, I'm peeved.

Fortunately, I've never had to use it. I know it will cause problems if I do, because some TSO will get huffy and call a supervisor or a LEO and they'll get outraged that I'm not respecting their authoritah, so I may wind up with a full monty search and hassle.

I was in China a couple of weeks ago and was out & about with a friend. We were stopped by local police going into a station who demanded to know where we were going and what we were doing. Before I could answer, the person I was with pulled out their diplomatic passport and handed it over and demanded the local cops summon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Police. The clear look of horror on the faces of the local cops when they realized that they were going get a bollocking from the MoFA Police over hassling a diplomat was great. :D They couldn't backtrack fast enough. I'd be fascinated to see how TSA would react in the same situation.

"I don't know what this is. I need to see your driver's license." :D

Bolding mine: I've been asked this nonsense before and my answers to this have been any one of these

• What day is it?
• Vacation
• Home
• Work (tho that would be a lie as I'm currently unemployed and I wouldn't want to lie to a TSO ;))
• To see a lady friend with benefits for the weekend
• The head as soon as I get thru security
• And when all else fails, "I'm not sure-may I see my boarding pass which you're holding in your hand as that has my destination on it"

Being that TSA often doesn't recognise even Official US Passports and thinks Tourist Passports are the only kind, Diplo passports could throw them for a bigger loop.

And of course the fact they have caused several int'l incidents with diplomats using Diplo passports in the US already makes me think they just don't care.

Was it in Mississippi where they improperly searched an Indian Consul?